Wolves of the Death
by Dantegrey
Summary: [AU] Since a childhood incident, Takashi Komuro has been dealing with a maddenning extra baggage. The average teenager is not capable of punching trought concrete, recognize a person by the smell at a mille away or overun a motorbike. With a recently broken heart, Takashi is trying to make the best of it, and then Them make their appearance...and the shit just got real.
1. Bad days

The dream was always the same.

Run, hunt, blood, feed, howl.

That would be the resume of what Takashi Komuro experimented every single night, and what was worst, he didn't have an idea of why the hell was experimenting those dreams.

Not that he could make head or tails about who was hunting who in that dream.

Sometimes he is the one hunting...something, something big, something full of fangs, claws and fury; on the other hand, something hurts him badly; in those dreams; the pain is so realistic that he awoken drenched in sweat, and sporting some serious phantom pains in all the places that had been attacked by whatever the hell hunted him in his dreams.

Leaning over a rail, Takashi picked up a cigar and lighten it with a gasoline lighter, the strong and acidic smell of the tobacco fill his nose and mouth, dulling his already more than overwhelmed senses.

It was one of those days, when his senses were overloaded by even the lesser of the impulses; he could hear the engines of the cars miles ahead, and smell all the perfumes the surrounding teenagers in the school, had on themselves; female scents were always welcome, in an animal like instinctively way; he could read the advertisement on an announcement at seven blocks of distance.

And it was fucking overwhelming...that's why he smoked something not entirely legal from time to time but not weed, neither something even more hardcore; he tried once some of the most powerful drugs he could afford with his allowance, a second-rate cocaine and he almost died when his body reacted like he had acid in his veins.

That led to a very awkward and painful discussion with his parents about what the hell was he doing? why has he became a junkie?, curiously, the doctor said that he had no trace of any drug in his blood test, they were cleaner; like his blood was devoid of anything harmful, not even the usual chemicals that all humans tend to accumulate during their lives because the society not so healthy food habits.

He would have loved to explain to his parents that he needed the dullness of the drugs to help him to keep the appearance of normality around the school and the neighborhoods.

Had you tried to have a chat with a girl when her perfume is like a spear in your nose?, when you could smell her delicious pheromones and start to sporting an erection just from that?, not to mention how his ears couldn't endure the constant chatting of the people around him, it was a nerve grating noise, something that made him clench his teeth and run, before the noise anger him to a point on where he would punch through the head of the first noisy little fucker on his way.

That would be messy, considering his enhanced strength.

Another interesting topic his strength, he was strong; well, he was in good shape, standing on a tall and proud six feet stature, lean like a professional swimmer, although few could attest that; as he was always cover from head to toe in heavy clothes.

He didn't really need any attention, not pity from the wound on his back.

Takashi had a very nasty wound on his back, the kind of wounds that should have crippled anyone for life, but in his case, it was nothing but a lot of scar tissues that spoke volumes of his natural resilience and endurance.

For his dear life, he couldn't remember how did he suffer such an injury and every specialist his family visited, just told them the same history, they couldn't explain how on earth was Takashi alive at this point, he should be dead, such a grievous injury is not something that a young boy like he was when he got it, could have survived.

The five scars of his back did resemble some kind of claw, it did appear as if a beast of some kind had tried to claw his back with its claws, tearing apart the flesh and the backbone in pieces before he could reach the inner organs, and have a feast on them.

The day Takashi got the wound was a summer day, one of the few occasions on where his parents decided to have a nice lunch in one of the mountains near the city, one of those spots that keep the place as natural as they could, preventing any building to be constructed nearby and preventing any company to take advantage of the natural land that surrounded the east part of the city.

Since that day, none of his parents had ever set foot out of the city again, only he had the balls to go back to the place that almost cost his life, and discover; much to his own surprise; that he liked the place, the mountain was much more comfortable to him than the city.

But that was no excuse for leaving his parents and just run the hell out of the same place that was only giving constant headaches and sickness.

For years their parents just believed that Takashi had an incredibly weak immune system, he always seems constipated and his eyes swollen; in truth, it was the smoke of the city, the tremendous contamination that swamped all the modern cities, from the residues from the cars to the houses, whatever, all of it was tremendously unpleasant for Takashi.

Those younger years were quite the hell for him, until his body did seems to accustom, and yet his up and down hypersensitivity cases did not help to overcome his apparent sickness to the city and ironically, he was a very strong and sturdy boy that was stronger, faster and harder than any of his same age.

Now, in his teenage years, Takashi was pretty much sure, he could kick the ass of any fucker out there who wanted to mess with him, in fact, he left the baseball and any other sports club precisely for that reason, he could cause tremendous injuries to any stupid teenager in his way.

He tried it once, he entered into a gym and with one punch, knock unconscious a sparring that was twice his weight category, he broke his jaw and cause a severe concussion to the man, the owner of the gym; and pretty much everybody else in the place; just observe gobsmacked, how a teenager had swept the floor with one of the talents of the gym, without even breaking a sweat, and with a permanent frown of disgust on his face.

In truth, Takashi was a freaked out as the rest of them, but he had another problem to worry about, his senses were already on the verge of collapsing from the smell of the place, it assaulted his senses; even if it was one of those days were he could be around without smoking half Cuba to prevent his nose to overload; like a physical impact, perhaps that´s why he just wanted to deal with the test as soon as he could.

And boy, it was amazing...

Strong as a damn mule, capable of running a marathon without broking a sweat, and left behind some astonished bikers; just running at a pace he knew could keep for hours; swift as hell, with a reflexes that left some of the cats and dogs of the neighborhood wondering what the hell had just happened?.

Takashi loved animals, but the universe had not enough already with him, and by some unknown reason, there was no animal in the neighborhood that did not run with the tail between the legs, at the mere presence of Takashi, even if the boy did nothing to the animals, until he was not several blocks out of their surroundings, all the animals seem to whimper and tried to run as scared cats.

There was no need to say, how bothersome all of this was for Takashi, who just loved the animals, only a couple of street dogs; mix breed specimens with scars that he suspected were from illegal dog fights; had the balls to be around him, and Takashi paid that favor by spoiling the dogs every time his allowance permits it.

Good meat is expensive in Japan, pig cutlet was a delicatessen that few could allow, unless you were loaded with green and that was not the case of Takashi, who was a very average teenager in the salary department; his parents still give him some allowance, but Takashi had no real vices; he didn't consider tobacco a vice, but most akin to medicine, it was the only...soft drug that didn't make him feel like his innards were on liquid fire, and because of that absence of vices he tend to save most of the money.

Except for a couple of treats for his unofficial pets; the aforementioned street dogs; he just keep saving money, the last time he did had expenses was the time where he had Rei around.

She...smelt just right, her smell was one of the few that he could tolerate, in fact, her smell was capable of..quell some of his worst attacks, he just had to concentrate on her, her smell, her voice, put her in his sights and his worst moments became a lot more bearable.

But then...

Well, Takashi didn't really want to dabble on those sentiments, and just pick up his earplugs and raising the volume of the music player in his iPhone, he played some of his favorite tunes, enough bad was the day already, to waste it, even more, brooding for a lost love.

It was not that the day was rainy or something similar, it was just, that it was one of those days, were the sounds of the cars, the voices of the people, their smells, the amalgam of cosmetics and perfume of the women, the deodorant of the men, the reflection of the sun on the windows and metals of the school...everything seems to conspire to made his head explode by the overwhelming assault on his senses.

For that were the cigar and the music, so he could focus on them and relax his mind and body.

At this rate, he was pretty much sure, he was going to snap against the first poor sod in his way, so he will do as he always does; grades be damned; and get the hell out of the people and find a nice and comfortable little den in the corners of the school to have a cigar and a couple of hours to relax.

He will drop the morning classes, history and math were not worth his time; he had already almost all the subjects of the scholar year practically covered; it has become a very sensible action, to study hard long before the year start, just in case he suffered a lot more bad days like this during the school year and had to be held back a grade or simply out of the school for his absences and low grades.

He was not a bad student, in fact, he was a clever boy, but the bitterness of his situation get the worst of him most of the days, and left him like he was always in a sour mood; there were few exceptions from the norm, days, on where he could even act as a normal teenager.

But those are few and scarce.

He listened to the steps...ah, better said, to the pawns of the mascot of the nurse of the school, climbing the ladders on where Takashi had taken refuge from the sun and the world, the mascot of the nurse of the school had the dubious honor to be one of the few animals that could be around Takashi without freaking out.

In a sense, Takashi knew that even with his strange and superior strength, if the push came to the shore, the humongous pet of Marikawa sensei was more than capable of tearing him to pieces.

The dog of the nurse; a big wolf-like dog of black an white fur; climbed the last set of stairs and eyed him with his honey color canine eyes, snorting from the heat, he just lazily stumped into one of the shadows of the stairs, closing his eyes and just taking a nap near Takashi, who didn't really care about the dog.

In fact, he was almost thankful of the beast, after all, every time the dog was near, his senses seem to pick up his animal scent and somehow, it does seem to quell whatever made his senses went into overload.

Takashi always found it humorous, what does that say of him? the fact that he was way better among animals than among humans? no one among his few friends could understand how it does affect him, it was like he was some kind of mistake, that he was a modern Tarzan, but he had not pass time on the jungle and instead, being directly marked by a beast.

Takashi did search for something capable of doing such a thing to him, and his research had only shown one result.

No know beast had a claw like the one that had torn his back apart; correction, there was one beast or better said, one living being.

A human was the only explanation, a human with claws and with a hand of a meter wide more or less, as absurd as it sounds, the teenager was as lost as all of the doctors and weirdos that had met during his part-time seek of the truth about what the fuck happened to him, and how on earth did he managed to survive.

He just sat on the floor, leaning on the metal rails, and keep smoking and listening to his music, looking at the beast napping at an arm distance from him; the animal just laid there without a care in the world, something he did envy the wolf-like dog, he had a very comfortable life.

Well, on the positive side of things, the big furry bastard was pampered by one of the hottest women alive, the one and only Marikawa Shizuka, a blonde bombshell that was the main attraction of half of the wet dreams of the schoolboys.

Not that Takashi was a pervert, but Morita; one of the few that he could call friends; had his hormones out of the roof half the time, and even had a list of the beauties of the school, among those same beauties, was the aforementioned nurse, in the mature women category.

The teenager smirked, he remembered how he raise an eyebrow at the absence of his ex-girlfriend from the list, but then remembered how; despite all his out of the roof libido; Morita was a clever boy, and would not add the girlfriend of his friend; a friend capable to knocking down a heavyweight boxer with only one punch; to his list of women he would love to fuck.

Well, Takashi had to admit that he did have a healthy appreciation for the feminine form, but not at the same level of Morita...sometimes he was way worse than the hormonal teenager; specially when a female caught his fancy, be it by her smell or appearance; heck, he even attends without fault Hayashi sensei classes, just because the brown-reddish haired woman had a nice voice.

If a female caught his attention, something...primal stir in him, that's perhaps why Rei broke out with him; he always had to stand on his toes around the girl, otherwise, he could have something that he would have regretted immensely, especially when the "heat" hit him like a train.

He would have cut his own throat before even doing any like that to Rei...

Still, Pinky promise...the memory of the day where they promise to marry each other, now that was a good memory, totally useless now, but still a good memory, something he could use to...stop some of his worst seizures.

Takashi sighed, remembering how bad it could be when the season comes and the trees and flowers start to bloom.

It was like a common allergy but up to a tenfold.

The next song of his playlist hit hard his eardrums and he smiled, he always loved heavy metal, the deep and strong rhythms of the music beating in resonance with his own heart and mood swings; a marriage made in hell, between a boy with the problems of an animal, and a strong music that hit something primal in the hearts of those that listen to it.

Of course, not all heavy metal managed to hit him like that, but when the song did, it was wonderful.

He could sense how he became more sedated like he has...granting himself a boon, a gift, after so many times on where he had to run from his friends and loved ones, it was a nice thing to have something that could sedate him, and do not have to take extreme measures.

Last time he did that, was when he discovered how Igou was dating Rei; not even a week after they broke; that day...well, Takashi had to admit that he almost snaps in that occasion and would have jumped at them; he wanted to tear them apart, one from his betrayal and the other for being a selfish bitch.

He ran.

He ran from them, not really given a fuck about anything but his need of getting as far as possible from the couple, and then he bought from a drug dealer from his worst times, enough shit to kill a horse.

After that moment, all the night was a blank state.

He did remember the dealer helping him to inject the whatever the hell was in that syringe; and how the man had called him Lunatico, a Spanish word for people that were out of their minds; but then, everything became a blur and he just awoke in a cell in the local police station prefecture, with the mother of all hangovers drumming on his head and becoming infamous overnight.

There was no physical evidence of what happened that night but since then, half of the teenager street gangs population of Tokonusu treat him like he was some kind of royalty and the other just wanted his head on a silver platter; not to mention how popular did he became with some of the...Ladies of the Night of some districts, as it seems that he lost his virginity that night, in an orgy with a lot of prostitutes and enough drugs for killing a dozen adult men.

As a positive side note, he did meet Maresato-san, a journalist for the local newspaper that interviewed him for what supposedly happened with him that night.

The man treated him like a person and not like the devil incarnate, like a lot of cops tend to do, except Reis father, who already knew of the shit Takashi was dealing with, on an everyday basis.

However the man didn't look at him in the same way since then, and it was no secret that he was glad his little Rei was no longer with the savage boy that had managed to scare shitless all the bands of thugs of the district in one single night.

Takashi did try to pay a visit to some of the boys that they said he put them in the hospital but each time he got near them, they had a panic attack, and he had to leave the hospital before they hurt themselves, even more, trying made a run for the hills.

In all, Takashi appreciated the peace and the fear; something in him basked in the fearful eyes of the teenager criminals like it was proper for them to fear; more than respect; him, he was at the top of the food chain, and that demands respect.

Not that he gave a fuck about all that, he wasn't part of any band, team, gang or whatever; not even the sports clubs were for him, especially after he noticed how dangerous he could be, perhaps only the track and field club, as it was only running and similar activities, but once again, it would be dangerous to show himself capable of achieving numbers that even Olympic athletes would found difficult to match.

Enough had he on his life, to add that hassle to his everyday life.

For Kami sake, he only wanted to be normal, and instead he was some kind of overpowered teen with a serious problem to live in the great city; not that Tonokusu was precisely Tokyo but still, it was big enough; and even greater problems to deal with a puberty that has been hitting him like a train when he least expected.

See aforementioned reference to Hayashi sensei classes; he even had an erection in one of those classes, when she appeared on the class with a tight blouse that did nothing to hide her wonderful breasts, and Takashi almost jump at her and ravage her senseless in front of the entire class.

He had to duct tape his own cock to his leg to hide the erection, it was painful to take out the duct tape after the classes, but between Hayashi sensei hot body, sensual voice and how the teenagers around him were as neck deep as him in their own puberty, it was miracle that he has not rip anyone throats already.

He almost bit Imamura's head off, when he loudly declared how hot the said Hayashi sensei was, along Marikawa sensei and the wife of Maresato-san; it did appear that Imamura lived in the neighbor of the journalist that interview him after his crazy as hell night.

In part because Imamura was lusting after the woman of a man he could respect, in part for loyalty to the dog at his side and in part of anger because Imamura was lusting after one of the several women that awoken his libido to an explosive degree, Takashi almost jump at the boy and tear him apart limb from limb.

But he controlled his rage, something that is was starting to get harder and harder each time, and as contrary to one could think, getting laid with the ladies of the night during his experience with hard drugs, had been for the worst, as he was now even hornier and had to stop his anger outburst with more frequency.

Takashi massaged his head, he would love to be back in his home, tinkering with his bike, a piece of machinery that he was building with his own hands; piece by piece; it gives him peace, clarity, his mind was focus and his hands were busy, even if the oily and metallic smells of the little garage should have busted his nose; instead they were welcoming, like entering in a house and fell the smells of a home, a place where you could...be you.

The soft snoring of the monster pet of Marikawa sensei was the only noise apart from his playlist, that Takashi could hear, and it relaxed him, he ended his cigar and after shutting it off; not leaving a heat or ember on it; he lazily throw the rest with amazing accuracy into of the trash cans, five meters under him.

Such impressive feats were nothing but a common thing for him, but in all honesty, they were not worth it...

As soon as that thought run over his head, a sudden and painful pang in his chest, made him cough and close his eyes.

That has been painful and unpleasant, Takashi cursed in under his breath, and now that he was starting to feel much better, once again his body had to show him how wrong he was, he was not going to simply forget and move ahead, his own body was betraying him, much like the girl so deeply fall in love with and his own best friend.

A low but deep growl cut short that line of thought as the form of the dog of Marikawa sensei raise his head and look at him for a second, before pointing his ears in one direction and turning his muzzle in that direction, he growled softly and show some of the most fearsome teeth Takashi had ever seen in a dog.

But then, the sound of a bunch of boys entered into his ears, Takashi knew those voices, they were the fuckers of the football team, Tsunoda, and his cronies to be exact; something in Takashi reacts badly to the presence of the boys as if they were a menace.

Tsunoda firmly believed that he was top dog in the academy, he was in top shape and was the star of the football team; on the other hand, he was an arrogant cretin, that had few redeeming qualities, as he was violent and aggressive with anyone who didn't pay him homage as the auto imposed title of King of Fujimi Academy.

Takashi didn't really like any of them, when he was moving around the sports club, the mere smell and overall attitude of the football team made him almost puke when he got closer and had to lean on a nearby fence before he saw red and enter into the lockers of the team, trashing them for good.

He could have done that, in fact, he did something way more brutal, if the reports of what he did during that night he lost to the drugs, were to be trusted.

Some of them were preposterous but the hospital bills did not lie and...well, Takashi didn't really want to go deep in that can of worms, enough awkwardness had he to endure with his parents when they enter the room to visit his son, who was perfectly healthy, except for a massive headache.

Cleanest blood analysis ever.

All the doctor were dumbfounded, they took blood and tissue samples of him, just to see how on earth did he managed to get clean of the overdose he injected himself, in such a short amount of time; but all test come clean, there was nothing special about him, apart from some very serious anger issues.

Takashi gritted his teeth and just prayed for the boys to left soon, this was a very relaxing spot, and as sooner as those cretins left, sooner could he be back to his own little relaxing time with his music and another highly tasteful cigar; those things were expensive but they were very good, and they do numb enough his smell and taste senses so he could walk around the rest of his classmates without being sick from the smell of so many perfumes, pheromones, and other odors present in the school.

He just sat in the shadows of the stairs where he was smoking and take a more comfortable position, laying on the floor, looking at the sky and picking up another cigar from the insides of his jacket, he put it in his mouth but did not lighten it; he will wait for the boys under him to left, before he could smoke in peace.

He should have know better, after all, the world had an ax to grind with his sorry ass.

As soon as it looks like the boys were going to left, another teenager pass through the corner, the chubby boy was reading a magazine, and for his body language, he was truly fascinated by the contents of the gun magazine; well Takashi didn't really like the guns, but he was not one to talk considering his own little problems; as he passed the corner, he slammed face front on the chest of Tsunoda, making the taller boy fall on his ass comically.

Takashi broke a smile, he loved when someone was able to put Tsunoda down a peg or two; something that only teachers and few students were capable of doing without the boy attacking them; but his smile soon vanish when he could ear the swearing of Tsunoda and how they were about to beat the shit out of the poor boy just for an accident.

A growl made him turn his face to look at the monster pet of Marikawa sensei, the wolf-like dog had his golden eyes set on the scene, there was something on those eyes that made Takashi uncomfortable, well, that would be not exactly, it was...odd.

He felt much better around the dog, somehow the animal presence of the massive dog was capable of still some sense of peace in the crazy body of Takashi, that enjoyed the company and the silence, and yet he could sense, that the dog and he shared a connection.

This was one of those occasions, where the could almost hear the disapproval of the dog, how his eyes were set in the backs of the Tsunoda group, if only one of those fuckers would turn around and saw the eyes of the beast, he would crap his pants one hundred percent.

But the dog snorted softly and turn his eyes to Takashi who just gulped, oh boy, he really hate when the dog looks at him like that, it was like being scolded by his parent but in an exponential manner, Takashi could swear to Kami, each time the dog looks at him like that, he just wanted to dig a hole and bury himself before facing that looks.

And there it was, the look.

The damn dog was looking at him, with a silent question hanging in his eyes.

" _Are you doing to do shit or what?"_ could be the appropriate resume of what the eyes of the dog sent to Takashi who just tried to respond, that it wasn't his business, that it was not his fucking problem, but then, Takashi had to admit that he didn't like it too, that he didn't like how Tsunoda was around like he was the Top Dog of the Academy.

Tsunoda was not an alpha, just a boisterous dog, a big fish in a small pond, who had not meet yet, a true predator.

Takashi look his eyes with the canine ones and tried to made his point about not interfering, but before he could present a valid argument; both dog and human raise their head in unison, at the sound of a sickening crunch.

Takashi sighed, this was stupid, this was...irresponsible and stupid, this was incredibly stupid.

Yet, he found himself jumping over the fence and landing perfectly, just behind two of the bunch of cretins, and dragging them by the neck of their uniforms, he sent them flying against the walls of the stairs with force enough to made them groan in pain.

He moved like a shadow, taking advantage of the surprise and the reflexes of his body, his reflexes were far more superior than anybody of his age, not even professional fighters; like the boxer, he knocked out in one punch; were capable of following his speed.

One kick to the back the knee, the boy kneel in pain, a quick punch; just a tap more than a punch, Takashi didn't want to bash his skull; and the boy was out cold, the fourth boy turn around and received a devastating light hook from the left, that made him kiss the floor.

The fifth boy just tried to raise his fist but Takashi just kick him in the bollocks without even looking and the last of the thugs, just feel to the floor like a doll that had its strings cut.

Then reached Tsunoda position and caught his fist before he could punch the chubby boy again.

That sickening crunch of before?, Tsunoda had punched the poor boy in the face and the crunch was his nose being busted; the nose of the fat boy most probably will be broken and that was the last straw of Takashi patience.

He didn't have a hero complex, for Pete sake, he was a monster in the making, one day he will lose control of his rage or his libido and will do something that would send him directly to jail, or the reformatory, if he was still a teenager.

But one thing was to had a hero complex and another completely different matter was to allow pieces of shit like Tsunoda and his thugs did as they please; that would only give them more confidence, and then, broken noses would become their favorite pastime.

Takashi hated bullies, he found them just...offensive, if you are strong enough to beat the shit out of all the people around you, you don't need to remind everyone and yourself that fact by beating the shit of everyone in a regular basis; something that cretins like Tsunoda did not seem to be able to engrave in their thick skulls.

"Enough," said Takashi, who had not lost his cigar by the way.

"Let go of me!" screamed Tsunoda, as he tried to free his wrist form the iron grip of Takashi.

Then he saw the scene and his eyes widened at the picture, all his friends were out of commission and he had not noticed anything until this fucker had grabbed his arm before he could punch this fatso ass till next week for making him look ridiculous.

"I said enough" repeated Takashi and let go of the arm of Tsunoda, walking past him and picking up from the floor the glasses of the fat boy.

"Calm down, pal," said Takashi to the pained boy, picking up one of his arms and raising him like it weights nothing, offering his glasses; which were not broken, mute testimony of the quality of the product; to the pained boy.

He could see how twisted to the left was his nose, fortunately, it did not look entirely broken, it would hurt like a bitch but if they managed to put it back and give him a lot of anti-inflammatories, it would be fixed in no time.

"Thanks" managed to say the dark-haired boy, he did not put his glasses on, it would be a wasted effort seeing how his nose was.

"Think nothing of it" replied Takashi, before searching for his lighter but before he could take it out, Tsunoda sucker punch him in the gut.

The worst consequence was how he munched the cigar, ruining it; Takashi reacted badly to the attack and with a snarl, he backslapped Tsunoda into a wall...three meters at their side.

Takashi blinked, Kohta blinked; and discover how a mistake it was with his nose broken; heck even the dog of Marikawa sensei seems to blink.

"Err..." said Kohta, astonished " sorry, but...did you just bitch slapped Tsunoda into a wall?".

"Uh" was the clever and concise response of Takashi.

Takashi was pretty much sure, Kohta was enjoying being attended by Marikawa sensei, especially the way her titanic breasts jiggle as the stunningly beautiful blonde treat the nose of the boy, Tsunoda had hit Kohta with enough strength to bend his nose, but fortunately; as Takashi predicted, Marikawa sensei could put it into place, with a little help of Takashi and a lot of pain for Kohta.

After that, she rubbed the noise of the boy with an anti-inflammatory ointment, action still in progress.

Takashi could understand how attractive the blonde nurse was; and not only for those breasts of hers, easily as big as her head, but for the cheery and optimistic attitude of the woman; in fact Takashi was pretty much convinced she was an airhead, but she was a very competent nurse that had helped him when the worst of his seizures made him cry like a child.

He owned her that at last, not to mention how she was the owner of the dog; who was patiently waiting outside of the building; that counted as one of the few people that could be around him, and do not treat him like a freak.

Speaking about that; Takashi laughed for the first time in forever; at last from his perspective; when the busty nurse jumped at the big dog and hugged him by his dear life smiling like a child, nuzzling her face on the fur of the dog and repeating _" who is a good boy?,Plushy is a Kami boy"._

Yes, Plushy, that's how this wonderful and bombshell nurse called her monster dog.

Takashi stared at the dog, who elegantly ignore him before the teen started to laugh wholeheartedly at the pet name of the wolf-like dog.

It was rich, at a level he couldn't express with words, from now on, he was going to be sure to always call the royal dog, Plushy, each time he tried to pull one of his glares of hell on him.

"Hirano-kun, fighting is a bad thing" softly admonished the nurse to Kohta, who just sweatdropped.

"Err...sensei, I wasn't fighting, Komuro-san was the one that stopped those bullies from hitting me more" explain Kohta.

"Komuro-kun" whined the nurse, leaving the ointment he was applying on Kohta nose, before bandaging his nose " what did I tell you about tiring yourself? you had to think about your own health first".

"Sorry sensei" came almost automatically the response of Takeshi, he was more than accustom to apologize to the kind nurse, he didn't really want to be a bother for the woman, the infirmary was one of the few heavens where he could stay without wishing to break his skull in half at the sounds and the scents of the school.

"Excuse meee!" started Kohta to ask before the pain of the tight bandages of his twisted nose give him a call before the nurse could end the treatment "what are you talking about? Komuro-san was capable of taking down six persons in a matter of seconds, for Pete sakes, he sent one flying into a wall with a single back slap" said Kohta who stared at Takashi in amazement.

Kohta was lost there, sick?, frail?, yeah sure; if it was the case, the boy would not be capable of sweeping the floor with the captain of the football team and his thugs; much less trying to hide how he was trying to smoke a damn cigar; if that was sickness, then Kohta would gladly sign for it, it was much better than being beaten up every time one of those mongrels had a bad day.

"I have hypersensitivity," said Takashi with a neuter voice.

He could see how Plushy, had hidden in one of the corners of the room, as he could not be on the place, it went against the rules, but the nurse always felt much better with her oversized dog around her.

"Isn't that a physiological sickness?" ask Kohta not seeing the problem.

"I said I have hypersensitivity, not that I was hyperactive" corrected Takashi with a sad smile, oh Kamis above how would have loved to just be hyperactive, that would have been a blessing.

"My senses are way sharper than the rest" explain Takashi " and that enhanced senses made me suffer almost constant headaches, mood swings, and anger issues".

Takashi sighed and took out his earplugs, even at full volume, he could ear Marikawa sensei and Kohta without any problem, something that the latter suddenly noticed at catching up how loud the volume really was, it was loud enough for both of them to ear even when Takashi was at the other side of the room.

"You had something made of leather in the breast pocket of your jacket "started Takashi to spoke " you ate for breakfast miso soup and a serving of Nori, pickles and...oh, our families bought the same daikon radish patent, on the other hand, Marikawa-sensei, what did I told you about drinking wine on the job?".

"How on earth?" said Kohta gobsmacked as the nurse blush very cutely before covering her lips and lick them.

Takashi had nailed it and she has had a glass of wine with the bento he bought before coming for work; it was her secret vice, he blamed Rika for it, she was a very hard drinker, and she has corrupted her poor innocent being with her drunkard habits.

"Not as cool as it sounds, Hirano-san" said Takashi putting back his earplugs, before the sounds of the building and the chatting of the teenagers on the classes around them made his headache worse; he was in one of those moments, on where he was relatively well and clear, one of those moments on where he could think and spoke clearly.

"Imagine you could ear all the students in this building chatting at the same time" said Takashi with hidden bitterness in his words " smell all the colognes, perfumes and cosmetics the girl uses, all of them at the same time; even taste some of the stronger ones, imagine you could smell all the toilets on this floor, and could tell without any mistake which of them are used right now, by females or males"

"That sounds...like a complete nightmare," said Kohta, both he and Marikawa-sensei had a very serious expression, listening to what Takashi had to endure when his senses went into overload and made his life completely miserable.

"Sometimes is the smell, sometimes my earring, sometimes my eyesight" shrugged Takashi " I can control it up to a point, but there are times where I can barely think straight, as my senses overload my brain, those are the worst seizures I had ever had, Marikawa sensei is kind enough to give me some low sedatives and painkillers and let me sleep through the worst of them".

"I'm sorry Komuro-san, I didn't know" apologize Kohta.

"Not your fault Hirano-san" smiled softly Takashi, as Morita and other that he could call friends, there was something in the smell of Hirano that did not assault his senses like a jackhammer like it happens with people like Tsunoda and others, Takashi's sense of smell made several differences between people.

It was like an animal, he classified them as menaces, irrelevant, part of the pack, mates, and enemies.

Kohta´s smell seems to be on the part of the pack list, along with Marikawa sensei and Plushy, oh Kami, he loved that name for the monster dog, it was golden.

Tsunoda has been transferred to the enemies list, people that Takashi would gladly bite their heads off and then take a dump on the bleeding stump of the neck, just along that slippery fucker called Shido, there was something on that man, that put all his body in maximum alert, he just wanted to tear him to pieces.

Mates...now that was a tricky question, for a long time, there was only one name on that list; Rei.

Takashi loved the orange haired girl with all his heart, truly, that's why he always was on guard around her; he shudders even thinking about what could have happened if he had lost control during one of their dates, he would have taken the virginity of the girl like a starved wolf.

Much like he did under the influence of the drug, but this time with ten or so prostitutes that could handle the passions of an inexperienced teenager boy, no matter how enhanced his stamina was...right?, he don't really wanted to dabble on the rumors about the amateur porn video that had him as only male protagonist against twenty girls, and no one among their friends had the balls to said nothing about it.

In all, that night was only the beginning of an ever worst nightmare as his puberty was now on the loose, he now had a more than an unhealthy appetite for the female company that had him banging his head against the wall more times than he would like to count.

"Had you ever consider the idea of wearing earplugs and nose plugs?" asked Hirano and Takashi raise an eyebrow looking at him with a deadpan expression.

"Yeah, of course, you have" smiled awkward Kohta " but I am not talking about the ones that are sell on pharmacies and the sort, but the ones that soldiers and other professional wears".

"There is a difference?" asked Takashi suddenly very interested.

"Well, yes" nodded Kohta " in every shooting gallery of the USA, they wear heavy headphones to tone down the noise of the weapons, much like professional gunners that had to be careful or the shock of the cannons could broke their eardrums and be deaf for life, one thing is the common every day earplugs and the ones that had to deal with thunderous noise almost every hour of the day".

"Is that so?" Takashi get closer to the boy and take a chair to sit on it and listen to the explanation of the boy, more carefully " and where I could get some of those?".

"I don't know exactly where you could find or buy them" confess Kohta, but before Takashi could fell his hopes die he continued " but I had a set at home and I could lend you some earplugs that could help you, at last with the earring problem".

"I...would really appreciate that, thank you," said Takashi and smiled truly for the first time in weeks, since Rei and him...well, he didn't want to open that can of worms.

"I owe you...owww" massaged his nose Kohta just to discover that even if the ointment of Marikawa-sensei was very effective, his almost broken nose was still very sensitive.

Said nurse was softly smiling as she filled all the paperwork she had abandon for the last days, up to a point that she had a damn mountain of it in front of her.

In her thoughts she was glad that finally, Takashi had made a friend, so far he was always alone, from time to time, she discretely send Plushy to keep the boy company, and the dog and the boy seems to be comfortable in each other presence, not to mention, the dog could keep the boy out of trouble.

Plushy always did that to her, since he followed her home and after she fed and clean the monster, she found a black and white, soft, warm and comfortable oversized plushy doll like the ones she always wanted; Rika shouted at her for a little but she had to admit that the dog was a very imposing beast and could keep her out of troubles when Rika was not around.

Still, Marikawa Shizuka was not the airhead everybody believes she was; well, she was a bit naive, but she was an innocent girl, she swore, she was a pure girl yet, Rika always scare all men around of them, when they tried to flirt with her, and since Plushy was around, few men had the balls to get near her before a growl from Plushy scared them out.

So far, only Rika and Takashi could be around her dog and feel safe and comfortable with him.

And it was truly sad that Takashi was more comfortable with a dog like Plushy around than with other children of his age.

She always pitied Takashi, the boy was a very good kid, with a solid head on his shoulders, much like Rika, but his hypersensitivity was one of the worst nightmares one could even suffer, all his senses were a mess, sometimes they are at their peak, other he was dull like a log; his ear and nose seems to be at war about who mess up with the boy more...in resume, he was screwed.

Shizuka extend a hand and scratch Plushy behind the ears, she always loved the soft yet strong fur of her pet; the action made Plushy to growl a little in pleasure from the sudden petting, and she smiled at the animal, despite all his wolf-like appearance, Shizuka has yet to see Plushy attack, anyone, well except when he bit a pervert that tried to grope her ass in the streets, and that doesn't count.

The woman saw Takashi and his new friend interact and she felt a little stupid for do not think about that sooner, earplugs; she didn't have any friend that...wait, she still had a friend that could help her, not sure if he will help her after how Rika almost shoot him for a misunderstanding, but Henry had never been one to hold any grudges, the English man was a complete gentleman.

For Takashi, it has been one of best weeks of his life.

Kohta was right; Kami bless his gun otaku heart of gold; gunner earplugs works, they do block all that noise, they do shut up a lot of the background noise, allowing him to have a normal conversation and on top of that Marikawa sensei give him another gift that made his life better.

It does seem that she had a friend called Henry Morgan, the best forensic examiner there was in the USA, and when she told him via Skype, what was happening with one of her dear students, the doctor send him a package with a few things that made his life a lot better.

A set of plugs for the nose, they could be put and no one will notice that he was wearing them, a recipe for a concoction of herbs that would dull his taste enough so he could drink with normality and do not have a seizure each time he tried to eat a chocolate bar; a couple of breath exercises and advises about his anger issues and a set of incense candles that would allow him to relax a lot more when he was at home and had to let it go all the stress of the day.

Takashi did not know of Henry Morgan, he never meet the man, but he was grateful beyond words to the friend of Marikawa sensei, however, he did notice how Plushy did seems to snarl about some of his actions, like he disapproved of how was he acting.

He did not react to the beverage Doctor Morgan gave to him, in fact the dog seems pleased with it, it was the plugs that made the dog snarl and look at him in disappointment, it surprised a little Takashi but he soon let it go, as the plugs and whatever the herbal potion that Doctor Morgan gave him, was the perfect solution for most of his problems.

Now he could act like a common, hormonal teenager, neck deep in puberty...ah, shit.

Takashi had forgotten about that little problem, but now that he could keep up some semblance of normal life, he..had no idea how to spoke with a girl.

Leaving apart Rei, he had never had any close relationship with any other girl; the crazy night when he lost his virginity didn't count at all; and in all honesty, he was not the best boyfriend ever, not after how Rei dumped his sorry ass for Igou, for his best friend.

That was a tough pill to swallow.

But he had already deal with it...somehow.

Takashi hated puberty, damn, he did hate puberty with a passion.

But in all, there were good things, now he could interact with his classmates in a more relaxed manner, and Kohta and he had become quite the good friends, even if Takashi did not understand half of the explanations of Kohta about firearms and the such.

The troubled teenager consider the guns nothing but a headache in the making, only the noise was more than enough to give him migraines; that's why he barely saw action films, the explosions and the loud barks of the gunshots were like drums for his head.

Ironically, he could listen to heavy metal without a problem, yet listening to a machine gun on the movies, made him cringe from his ringing ears.

Another of the fucking problems he had to deal with as a teenager with a hypersensitivity problem.

So far the remedy of Doctor Morgan was good, and Takashi almost strangled the ditzy nurse of the school for not consulting the good doctor as soon as she knew about his condition.

But Takashi knew that his case was a rare case, how would have the nurse knew that Doctor Morgan had already treated a similar case? his sickness was one in a million.

Speaking of that, it was really good the remedy the doctor gave him, and the ingredients were surprisingly cheap, his parents were delighted when Takashi started to improve his mood and health after the first couple of days of taking the medicine, it was cheap, it was good for the boy and it did wonders to improve his mood.

All wins from Takashi's parents' point of view.

As an interesting consequence, Takashi had become way more laid back when he had his ear and nose plugs on, like he had the head buried in a pillow, and all the world around him was way duller than before, something that suited him perfectly well, he was very sick from seeing the world in HD.

Yet, there was something that did not change, and it was his improved eyesight,something that come quite handy on his tinkering of his old and loved bike, a Yamaha model, so outdated that he only conserved the chassis, as the rest of the pieces were impossible to find or he would have to build them with his own hands, something that he was not confident enough yet.

He wanted to be a mechanic, and now that his attendance and grades would become better, it was no longer an impossible dream.

Takashi exited his class, without even a glance to Rei or Igou; it was a work in progress, it hurts but it will heal, much like everything else in his life, although; and after how Marikawa sensei accidentally slipped during one conversation how he beat the crap out of Tsunoda and his minions; he suddenly became a lot more popular than before.

And thanks to the plugs and the medicine, he could deal with the extra attention before he had to bite someones head off, namely a fangirl or one of Tsunoda teammates; bunch of assholes all of the latter, at last, the Third year group, however, their adviser was none other than Shido sensei and with that knowledge in mind, it does have a lot of sense that all of them were a bunch of wankers.

Anyhow, with that rumor running around and how his reputation as the one you don't want to cross; his crazy nigh added to the gossiping mill; Takashi suddenly become some kind of a celebrity among his fellow students in Fujimi High School, mostly among the ones that were bullied by the older students.

Now that one Second year student kicked their sorry asses, they were not as cocky as they were in the past, but only when Takashi was not around, they did try to provoke him and beat the crap out of him by sheer numbers, but when Takashi broke the leg of one of them and then throw him down the stairs of a second floor, they finally caught the message.

Kohta was laughing his ass off during all that incident, as he advised Takashi about be careful not to throw the body downstairs very forcefully or he will break his neck in fall, and that was something that none of them wanted right?.

The long pause that a deadpanned faced Takashi made after that statement, was the final nail in the coffin for any desire of vengeance of the football team, some thought about hurting Kohta or the ex-girlfriend of Takashi, but the former was always near Takashi during the school and the latter was dating a black belt in karate that could kick their asses blindfolded.

Still, his fame came with an undesired consequence, and it was how half of the school believed he was some kind of violent delinquent and the karate and boxing club were on the hunt for him now, especially when they get an ear about how he knocked down a heavyweight boxer during a sparring match.

Kohta once said that it must be impossible, and then Takashi punched the concrete wall of the stairs on where both of them were having lunch, breaking the hard concrete and leaving an inch crater and some cracks on the wall, without even a mark on the skin of his hand, nor any show of discomfort on his body language.

As the glasses of Kohta started to slip of his stunned face, the third person of the group at that moment, grab Takashi by the ear and give him an angered earful about how irresponsible that has been.

Saya was always like that, she was a genius, and she didn't lose a chance to remember all of them how clever she was, but she was one of the oldest and dearest friends of Takashi, and he will allow her such intimacies, after all, not only her father was a very intimidating person, but Saya was one of the few that had tried to help him with his problem.

She was still a bit sore about how a mysterious doctor from overseas has managed to help Takashi with his problem, and she could barely believe how an airhead like Marikawa-sensei could be friends with such an amazing person.

She dug a little about that Doctor, and his credentials were top notch, in fact, he had published dozens of articles in reputed scientific magazines and was one of the few that could perform some of the hardest surgery operations know to mankind with a hundred percent success.

How did he end as forensic examiners for NYPD was something Saya couldn't believe.

But the man had done her best friend a favor and that goes a long way with the temperamental teenager; one of the five beauties of Fujimi High School; the third Takashi believed; just under Saeko Busujima and Yuuki Miku; one was the queen of the school and the other one of the most sensual woman Takashi has ever saw.

Marikawa-sensei and Hayashi-sensei not included; one was the nurse of the school and the other was one of the _"Sound crushes"_ that Takashi had.

" _Sound crush_ " was the name that Saya and Marikawa-sensei give to those females that had caught the fancy of Takashi by simply having a nice voice, or at last, a voice that Takashi found fascinating.

" _Smell and Eye crushes"_ were on that list too, and Saya had a lot of fun mocking Takashi around for being a pervert, although he always had Morita and Kohta supporting him.

One of them; Morita; just was happy to have another pervert like him around, and the other knew how bad was for Takashi and his enhanced senses, one of the worst things about his almost like superpowers was that he could listen to the couples making out at a hundred meters of range.

It didn't sound so bad, uh?, then Takashi explained that said couple was Rei and Igou; and to make things worst he could smell and hear how Yuuki Miku was giving a blowjob to her last boy toy in the hall just a couple of meters above their heads.

Kohta paled and silently gave Takashi his plugs, ignorance was a bliss in those cases.

Curiously, when Saya joined them during their little escapades and their time for having a lunch, she appeared with Plushy and both of them were looking at Takashi with a shadow of disappointment in their eyes, at that point Takashi couldn't care less, he just wanted to block the sound and the smells...oh dear Kami the smells.

Female arousal was one thing, he could live with that sweet and attractive smell, but for fuck sakes, he didn't want to smell the arousal of all the boys of the school each fucking time they were salivating at the sight of the girls of the PE class in their tight and revealing bloomers.

And then he needed a cold shower.

Just imagining Marikawa-sensei, Hayashi-sensei, Rei, and a lot of other women, dress in bloomers and with trails of sweat going down their curves.

He had to smash his head against the wall each time he had one of those fantasies, much to the amazement of Kohta and Saya...and Plushy, that seems to bark like a laugh each time that happened.

On one of that occasion, it was was surrealistic enough for the boy patience, that just had to excuse himself and went to the vending machines for a very cold drink.

Plushy went after him, and Takashi could swear that the dog was smirking.

Takashi knew, or at last suspected, that the dog was far more clever than his stupid name and monster like appearance suggested, otherwise he would not have followed the blonde bombshell and get pampered by a very, very hot woman.

Curiously, a similar event, allowed him to add another name to his ever-growing list of females that had enraptured him, one name that could make him forgot about Rei and her betrayal, and for that, Takashi was grateful for the dog, to be an ass, just for that occasion.

It was a cloudy day; the sky was covered by white clouds that travel the sky, forming cycles of shadow and light over the facilities of the Fujimi High School, it was later in the evening, where most of the clubs were already finishing their activities for the day, and prepare to close their rooms and training fields.

Takashi had left Saya and Kohta in the train station, both of them shook their heads when they discover that Takashi ran every day from his home to the school, almost half an hour by train was covered by a boy in less than a quarter and without even breaking a sweat.

He smiled and when he was about to put his headphones on, he discovered that he had left them in his locker, he has so accustom now to his earplugs that he couldn't listen to any music during school, but he loved to have music as background when he ran all the way back to his home.

Takashi covered the space that separated the school from the train station in a blink, reaching the school gates and entering into the slow light dimmed hall entrance, he looked out for his locker and picked up the headphones, with a smirk he left them on the floor as he was about to take out his earplugs.

Then Plushy appeared from nowhere and grab his earplugs, making a run for the backyard of the school.

Takashi growled, and if anyone should have ear that growl, would no doubt attach it to an animal, not a human being, humans are not capable of growling like that; the human growl is a pale imitation of what a feral growl could transmit to those that ear it; and in this case, Takashi was seeing red.

Fortunately, there was not a lot of students around otherwise, his ears would be overwhelmed by the noise, and he could count his stars that his nose plugs were on; if he had to smell the place now, he would have puked his innards out.

The sports club had just ended, that means sweat, lots and lots of sweat and dirty clothes; he started to feel sick just to think about it.

Plushy run for the fields and Takashi was right after him, following the dog, at a speed that no human should be able to accomplish, but Takashi didn't care about that right now, he was way more focused on hunting down the fucking thief pet of Marikawa-sensei.

They left behind some of the fields, leaving a lot of the members of the different clubs astonished at the picture of the monster dog of the nurse of the school and the infamous Takashi running after him, and what was even more impressive was how the boy was capable of keeping the distance with the animal, even when they run over fences and obstacles that both surpass with amazing easiness.

They jumped, dodged, overcome and just run all over the training field if all the place was nothing but a flat surface, dodging the amazed people as Takashi cursed and snarled at the dog that just kept evading him, unconscious of how he was leaving all athletics clubs like amateurs, without even breaking a sweat.

The dog finally pass a building and Takashi just see his chance to finally hunt the dog, he increased his speed and jumping with all his might, he tackled the damn dog with enough strength to send both of them flying at the little group of persons that were standing right at the front of the Kendo club.

Takashi, Plushy and a couple of unfortunate bystanders were dragged in the tackle and be sent flying into a nearby wall, in a confusing mess of limbs and fur.

Still, under the adrenaline from the chase, Takeshi climbed over Plushy and snatch his earplugs from the mouth of the dog, with a final roar of triumph.

Standing over all of the fallen, and with the earplugs in his extended hand and a savage smile on his lips, Takashi was a very impressive yet a little humorous figure.

Unknown to him, the people in front of the Kendo club just stare at him, who simply proceed to put his earplugs back and sigh in relief, and when that happened, he just noticed how he was the main attraction of a freak show, judging by the stunned faces of all of the people in front of him.

Then his nose caught a smell that froze his mind, it was...oh, Kami, it was perfect, sweet, strong, delicate, firm, traced with the taint of blood, female sweet sweat, metal, and perfume.

Takashi blushed and with a quick search, he looks out for the source of the smell, founding it in the very presence of the School most beautiful girl, none other than the Kendo Captain Saeko Busujima, who was staring at her with a smirk and amazement on her luscious lips.

Takashi punched the side of the dog and frowned at him; the dog just barked in amusement and struggle to get rid of himself of the trio of unconscious boys over him, the dog snorted at the pitiful resistance of the teenagers, if they were knocked down with just a soft tackle.

"I apologize for the interruption" bowed Takashi to the kendo team and the people in front of the door "this oversized fur ball stole my earplugs and I had to recover them, I am sorry if I disturbed your practice".

After such a heartfelt apology, all the female Kendo team started to see the infamous Takashi in a different light.

First of all, he had just put Tsunoda and his minions down a peg in a very unorthodox manner, and despite his fame as a troublemaker and violent, he was apologizing in a very polite and respectful manner.

His impressive show of physical strength and his cute face and deep honey brown eyes with a hint of how savage he really was, was not a bad thing for the teenager girls; after all, bad boys are the favorite of the young girls, especially bad boys that had cute side just for their favorite girls.

It was a cliche, but that didn't prevent it to be true.

Then, Takashi just jumped over a two meters fence like it was nothing and made a run back to the entrance lockers, he still had his bag and belongings there, he left them there, before the bloody dog stole his earplugs; he didn't know but he was running at a speed that not even a professional runner would be able to achieve.

Not that he cared, she was embarrassed beyond words, and just wanted to pack his things, made a run for home and dig himself a hole where he could dream about the purple haired Kamidess of war that he...wait, what?.

Takashi screeched an alt in front of the entrance, noticing two things.

Number one, he was already having erotic daydreams with a girl he had barely just see...and the Captain of the Kendo club if his guess was correct about who was the woman that had caught his senses like a bear trap.

Number two, his pants were barely containing an erection.

If just the smell and the view of Saeko Busujima had such a reaction on him, he feared for what could happen if she got closer to him, he desired her, she was...absolutely perfect.

Her figure was to die for, her eyes were blue orbs on where he could gladly drown all day, those kissable lips of her, with a faint trace of the strawberry of her lipstick, lips that called him for kiss until they need breath again... she was a warrior, a true warrior graced with skill and beauty, she was perfect.

And Takashi could barely control himself to get back there and take her as his; he wanted her, he wanted her so badly that it was like an addiction, and he could barely control himself from doing exactly that...

He despised him, he despised him deeper than he could believe.

Crying tears of rage, Takashi enter in the hall and pick up his possessions, before making a run for his home, lust, anger and revulsion fighting on his soul, as he made a run to his house, a place where he could drink a liter of his medicine, pick up a mantle and hide in his garage.

That night Takashi cried like a child, his emotions were as rampant as his senses, and only the concoction of Doctor Morgan established him long enough so he could appear normal in front of his parents and do not puke his guts out about how has he been so close to almost rape a girl, even if he had only thought about it.

A girl that pulled him like she was the moon and he the sea, a girl that he had no doubt was worthy of something much better than a broken product like him, a beast that could barely control himself...

Unknown for Takashi a set of canine eyes were set on him, the intentions of those eyes inscrutable, but there was a worry, pity, and understanding in the eyes of a regal beast, that has been following Takashi since the boy left the school like all the devils of hell were after him.

The beast knew that the boy was at his limit, he has done all he could to deny the wolf on him, to deny his true form, and that battle; specially now that he has found a new mate; was destroying him, the potion of Henry was capable to stabilize him, but his own human morals and surprisingly iron will be dampening his powers.

He will break soon and will reclaim his inheritance and power.

About bloody time...

However, that did not prevent Takashi to have one of the worst nights of his life.

His dreams, as usual, were of hunt and blood, but at this time, mostly at the end of each dream on where he hunted or was hunted; Saeko was there, waiting for the triumphant human or beast, to embrace her and lost themselves in the deeps of passion under the light of the full moon.

Her face twisted in an expression of absolute bliss made Takashi crazy with lust, taking her in all the debauchery ways he could think, actions that only seems to please even more the violet-haired warrior woman, as she moaned and screamed his name with each deep thrust.

Nightmare or wet dream?, for Takashi it was not up for debate, enough embarrassed he was already to even thought about telling anyone about those dreams.

At the next morning Takashi noticed how he was sweating like he had run a marathon, he had wet his blanket; in a pool so wide that it would seem that he has pissed the bed more than having a wet, very wet dream; and he was still sporting a massive morning wood.

Groaning, the poor teenager crawled out of the bed and miserably drag himself until the freezer of his home, picking up the bottle of Doctor Morgan remedy and gulping half of the bottle in one go; the effects were immediate, his mind became clearer, his body lost the sluggish sensation and his erection subdued.

Doctor Morgan should patent this shit, it was better than coffee and tranquilizers together in one mint savored drink.

Takashi was grateful to the friend of Marikawa sensei for the remedy, it was a miracle that he had previously treated another person with his symptoms, he was convinced that he was the only one in Japan with such a problem like his; but it does seem that in the USA there was another dozen of persons with the same condition like him; and Doctor Morgan had helped one of those dozen poor sods.

Feeling much better, at last physically, Takashi went into the shower, his parents will not be up until an hour, Takashi was one early bird after his condition worsened after the attack he suffered in the mountains when he was a child, he only need four or six hours of sleep each day, sometimes even less, to feel refreshed and ready for another horrid day.

In the last week, that attitude changed, especially after the plugs and the remedy but it was far from a cure for his condition.

Marikawa-sensei, in one of those serious moments of hers, already explained to him that this was not some kind of sickness, that he will have to learn to deal with it during all his life; Takashi cursed his rotten luck and resigned for what was going to be a total pain in the ass for the rest of his life.

Being honest with himself Takashi didn't want to go to school, now that he had picked the glorious smell of Busujima senpai, he would be unconsciously be drawn to her, even if he didn't want, his nose will turn in the direction of her smell, his ears will be waiting for her voice.

It was like being with Rei again, but in a tenfold dose, and in a corner of his heart, Takashi was not ready for another relationship.

That line of thought, made him pause, relationship?, who the fuck he believed he was?, he was just an average fucker with a serious problem of attitude, a woman like Busujima-senpai did not deserve to be burdened with a broken shit like him.

A broken boy capable of breaking steel with his bare hands and perform amazing athletic feats, along being one of the most capable mechanics that reside on the city; but that statements were not of importance on the mind of Takashi, who was brooding on the chair of the kitchen, drinking his remedy.

He got up and move into the kitchen, ready to make some breakfast for him and his family, he could not look it, but he was a very good cook, he had an advanced sense of taste and smell, something that allowed him to notice when a soup was ready, what was the perfect seasoning point or when the ingredients were perfectly cooked.

He mainly did it for his parents, especially after how he had a lot of free times in the mornings before going to school, and his mom was proud of the fact that he knew how to cook so well, Takashi once thought about following that path, but just the thought of all the smells of a kitchen and he became dizzy; he could endure the heat without a worry, but the smells of hundreds of preparations and raw ingredients, that was something he could not deal with.

Seasoned rice, miso, natto, some meat side dishes and a serving of nori was the typical breakfast for his family and he left it ready to heat and serve, on the other hand, he was slowly chewing a raw filet with a distracted impression.

Raw meat, somehow the ingestion of raw meat did wonders to his mood and even help him to endure his worst seizures, when his senses play all kind of tricks on him, like being able to discern what was the soap the neighbor used to made her laundry, and to pick up seven different shit smells from the animals surrounding his house neighborhood.

Chewing on the raw meat, Takashi just eyed through the glass of the window, eying the cloudy sky and noticing how relatively clear the sky was, even if the weather girl has advised about an incoming storm.

Well, the weather reports were never the most accurate ones, and he could tell it by the smell of the air; once he could leave apart the nauseate smells of pollution and humanity at his finest; how the air was relatively clean of any traces of the sensations he always had related with the storms.

When Takashi nose picked up some humidity, a touch of grass and other smells that he could not describe with words, he knew that there was rain on the way, it does help a lot about when its time to put the laundry to dry or to know when to carry an umbrella around.

Not that he needed it, or in fact, he preferred to run under the rain, as the water fell on him, the rain does purify the smells of the city, and he loved how the water drops fall on his body like a natural shower, the smell of a storm cloud was always welcome for his senses.

Still, this was not to be the occasion, it was going to be a couple of sunny days at least, before the rainfall.

Sighing, Takashi left the kitchen and made a walk into his little garage, the place where he could tinker in his little machine; a devastated Yamaha that he was reconstructing piece by piece; all he wanted before having to face the school day once again.

Well, on the bright side, today he had a class with Hayashi sensei, and he could make a run for the rooftop during the classes of the evening, before having to face the anger of Saya, he loved the temperamental girl, but sometimes she was too much for him.

There was nothing between them, as a few of his classmates and the gossip mill said. Saya was one of the few true friends he had, he played a lot with her during kindergarten and that friendship continued during high school, Saya was a sister, and you Don't fuck your sister, that was gross.

Picking up a wrench so he could make some repairs on the bike, Takashi remembered the list of Morita, how he added Saya as the fifth most beautiful girl in the school.

Morita, one of the best friends of Takashi, had a list of the beauties of the school.

Number one was Saeko Busujima and Takashi wholeheartedly agreed with that title after seeing the girl in person and had to run before he jumped at her and ravaged her savagely...and he clenched his teeth, rejecting the mere idea of following that line of thought, shutting it before it takes a hold of his conscious thoughts.

Number two was Yuuki Miku, the unofficial slut of the school if one had to pay attention to the rumors about how she had a very open sexuality and loved to flirt and drag different boys by the nose, having them as toys until she grew bored of them.

Number three was shared, as Misuzu Ichijou and Toshimi Niki shared the position, not really a surprise, those two acted like twins, they were always together and tend to end the phrases of the other, they are as close as a couple of girls could be, and they had been together since kindergarten for what Takashi knew.

And last but not least, Saya Takagi, Takashi old friend and indeed a very beautiful girl, with an explosive temper and IQ that went out of the roof; notice that she didn't lose a chance to remember all of them how a genius she was, and those were the occasions were Takashi had a lot of fun treating her like a kid.

Her pouting face was adorable, although lately, she was more lashing at him in anger than pouting like she did when she was a kid, he missed the cute Saya, instead of this Tsundere Saya that he has now.

As a side note, it was not a secret that Saya never approved of Rei, she found the orange haired girl, superficial to say the last, and a complete retarded when she dumped Takashi for Igou, but Saya had enough head on her shoulders to left Takashi be, after all, enough shit had Takashi to deal with every day, to deal with the aftermath of a possible Saya chewing-Reis-ass-for-being-a-harlot-catfight in the middle of the school.

When did Takashi's nonexistent love life become such a pain?.

Well...better if he cleaned himself from the oil and grease and prepare for another day of school.

Oh, joy.

He knew it, Takashi knew it, he saw it coming, it was a natural consequence of how the teenager minds work.

When he has gone to pick up a very needed cold drink, he looks over the window, to see how there was a lot of people in front of the Kendo club, and remembered that it was common for them to have the doors open, so the heat inside the dojo did not become unbearable, but as side consequence, it was the fact that they tend to congregate a crow, eying the girls of the club and of course the most beautiful girl Takashi has ever put his eyes on.

Before Takashi could even blink, he was leaning on a post near the entrance of the dojo.

He blinked, snarled in his mind and sighed, eying Plushy, who was hidden behind a shadow of the building, looking at him with those amused canine eyes of him.

Takashi sighed, closing his eyes and take a deep breath, he stiffened as the air bring to him, not only thirty different body smells but one, In particular, freeze his brain; in both bad a good way; he couldn't but felt attracted to it, more than attracted it was like an addiction.

He focused on moving, one step after the other and then he missed how the girls of the club were looking at him and whispering to each other about his presence in the place.

Since the event that he starred in front of the dojo, it was no secret that some of the girls had been asking around about him, and pick up some very odd and curious rumors, among those was his crazy night, about how half of the gangs of the district fear him like a plague, but at the same time how he was a reserved boy, who was polite and kind with all the people that spoke with him.

Takashi didn't pay attention to the conversation, in part for his earplugs and in part because he was focused in left the place with all the dignity he could muster before he had a very awkward erection or made a fool of himself if any of the girls tried to spoke with him.

Duct tape, Takashi was back to the duct tape to hide very awkward erections...

And he was having such a nice week.

Unknown to him; mostly because how he was having a war with himself right now; the girls were having a little conversation about his presence, most of them were wondering how he was under the heavy clothes he was wearing no matter the weather; after all, he was strong enough to beat the shit out of Tsunoda and some of his friends from the football team.

"I wonder why is he here?" whisper one of the girls to her friend.

"I don't know, maybe he wanted to apologize again for what happened yesterday? he was so cute when he blushed and apologize so nicely..." chuckled the girl in response.

"I am more interested if he was really capable of beating the shit out of Tsunoda," said a third girl as she cleaned some sweat from her face.

"Considering how Tsunoda is glaring daggers at him..." chuckled the first girl, discretely pointing at Tsunoda, who was ogling them at the beginning but now was looking with murder written in the eyes to the distraught Takashi.

"Yeah, I can see that" chuckled the second one, looking very amused to the captain of the Football team, who was about to bust a vein in barely contained fury.

"But it was the truth?" joined another girl, resting a bokken over her shoulder and taking a bottle of water from the bench " did he actually did half the things they rumors says about him?".

"No idea" shrugged the first one " still, he is a cute thing" confess the girl with a flirty tone.

"What could be he hiding under that heavy clothes?" followed suit other of the girls.

"Ladies" a stern but amused female voice call the attention of the chattering girls " shouldn't you all be back to practice?" asked with a polite smile Saeko Busujima, with a bokken in a relaxed position.

"Yes, senpai!" answered automatically all of them.

She shook her head at the girls, she could understand their curiosity, in fact, she was quite interested too in the savage boy, he had quite the infamous name around the school, and not only for those odd rumors about a night that sound crazy as hell, but for his odd behavior and supreme athletic skills; something she could saw by herself yesterday.

He caught a dog running, tackle said dog and two bystanders and yet stand up as a conqueror...she saw the glimpse in his deep brown eyes, a gleam that was almost equal to the one she had when...a frown etched in her beautiful features, as she let those thoughts go.

This was not the place for such thoughts.

"But seriously senpai, what do you think he is doing here?" asked the last of the girls.

"No idea" shrugged Saeko looking at the boy.

There was conflict on his body language, like a beast that was caged and rattled against his cage, the tension in his body language was more than enough for Saeko to identify the emotions running all over the frame of the boy, and even despite his heavy clothing, she could tell that he was in good shape.

The boy finally softly sighed and turn around, walking out of the doors of the dojo, like he was having a very heated debate on his own head, and none of the sides wanted to back from the fight.

She could empathize with the boy, she too had a hidden face, one disgusting and dangerous for all around her, she was a broken thing, that could only hide her ugly appearance under the wraps of Saeko Busujima, a mask so comfortable that had become very much her life.

She was about to get back to practice when she noted that a group of the boys had taken the chance to surround the retreating Takashi, that seems to focus on walking that he had not noticed how those boys were surrounding him in a circle, obviously ready to bully him.

She frowned, that was not a good way to do things, if one of the boys had a grudge against Takashi, he should go and tell him to his face, and do not take strength in numbers, like cowards, but she could understand that low lives, like the ones that only came to the dojo in order to stand there ogling the girls, were beyond redemption.

Still, what happened next, was something that she would never forget.

Some of the public had noticed how Tsunoda and some of his friends and teammates were surrounding Takashi, the famous boy that had already beat the said Tsunoda once, but Takashi was with his eyes closed and walking in a straight line out of the field, and he had earplugs in his ears.

All of the people present knew what Tsunoda and his friends were about to do, and some of the kendo team, scream Takashi to watch out for the attack, but between his earplugs and his own focus on ignoring all his surroundings, Takashi did not pay attention and before he knew, he was sucker punched by Tsunoda.

Takashi snapped at the punch, even if you are resilient if someone put a lot of strength in a punch to your relaxed stomach, it was going to surprise and make you lost your breath, especially when you have all your attention in get your mind out of the gutter.

Following the sucker punch, came a straight that knocked him to the floor, more because his loss of balance than any real damage he could suffer from the punch of the cocky teenager, still it hurt and was worst, it pissed him off.

Tsunoda keep punching him, and Takashi knew Tsunoda was screaming something to him, not really caring about the words; as the earplugs muddled everything; Takashi endure the weak punches of the smiling and arrogant teenager and focus on do not rip his fucking throat out.

He was not like that, he was not a rabid animal, but this fucker; Takashi didn't even remember who the hell was this boy, as he had already marked the captain of the football team as irrelevant after the incident when he threw one of his thugs down the stairs; was not making easy to control his anger.

"I'm going to beat the shit out of you" arrogantly declared Tsunoda punching Takashi once again in the face, not really noticing that Takashi was not even noticing his punches and was just standing there, taking the hits like they were nothing and waiting for Tsunoda for just get bored and go away.

Seriously, Takashi knew that he was stronger as hell, breaking concrete with his bare hands was already proof enough, but until now; that he remembered, that crazy night did not count; he had never been on the other side of a beating, so the weak and faint sting of the punches of Tsunoda was a new sensation.

"You like it, bitch?!" screamed Tsunoda and Takashi gritted his teeth, damn this guy was annoying.

"Stop it" sound Saeko's voice, icy as the North pole, glaring daggers at Tsunoda " this is a very disgusting spectacle".

"Zip it whore, or you will be the next"spat Tsunoda in Saeko's direction, and then everybody shut the hell up when a twin animal growl echoed in the entrance of the dojo.

Takashi was glaring at Tsunoda with his honey colored eyes, so full of menace and killer intent that Saeko feel weak on her knees just looking at those wonderful and beautifully violent and savage eyes of Takashi, those were the eyes of an animal, full of the promise of violence and blood, so much like her that it was scary...

Tsunoda believed that the growl came from the resting form of Plushy, deep under the shadows of a building but the dog was big enough, for every student to feel intimidated by it.

"Someone go kick that oversized dog of the monster tits bitch" laughed Tsunoda, armed with the courage that only special kind of fools do seems to possess, he didn't know that the real danger was in none other places than in front of him " I had to beat the shit out of this bitch" turned Tsunoda with another punch to the face of Takashi and an arrogant smile in his face.

Takashi grab the punch with his open hand; it was so slow for him that he could have done the laundry as he waited for the hit to connect with his face; and then proceed to squeeze the trapped fist inside his hand, in a second, Tsunoda noticed how his fingers and hand started to buckle under the pressure and he screamed in pain, falling to his knees.

That was the bell that signaled all of the surrounding and stunned companions of Tsunoda to act and jumps at him, ready to give Takashi the beating of his life, instead, they were just doing easier for Takashi to beat the crap out of them.

Not letting go the hand of Tsunoda, Takashi rise a leg and smash the sole of his shoes against one of the faces of the boys, stopping him in mid-air and letting him fall to the floor, nose broken and unconscious.

That was the fortunate one.

With his free hand, Takashi punched backward, breaking one or two ribs of another of the boys, making him feel to his knees, breath lost and pale as a sheet for the sudden pain.

Recovering the leg from the first kick, he kicked one of the other boys in a quick ax kick; a little awkward as Takashi was not accustomed to fighting, and was doing it more by instinct than true martial skill; sending the receiving victim spiraling into the ground, with all his cheek swollen and possible his jaw busted.

Three in four seconds.

He grabbed Tsunoda and threw him to another of the boys, sending both of them to a wall, five meters behind Takashi, slamming them against the concrete surface with force enough to knock down both of them.

There was only three left, and the trio was slowly realizing what landmine they had steeped, still, the inertia forced them to attack Takashi with punches and trying to tackle him to the ground.

The one who tried to tackle him received a knee to the face, breaking his nose in a sickening crunch, before Takashi throw him off him, and giving a step ahead deliver a jab to the face of the second of the three remaining boys; effectively paralyzing him where he stood; he finished the scene with a shovel hook to the liver of the last one.

Ten seconds.

That's all he needed to put down eight people, all of them completely down, none of them will raise, between broken ribs, shattered noses, broken fingers, and bruises.

"That's was awesome!" said one of the girls of the Kendo Team with amazement in her eyes and all the public just agreed wholeheartedly with her.

Takashi blinked a couple of times, revealing to the public his own astonished face to the public, as he looked at his hands and the collapsed bodies of his supposed bullies around him, he didn't remember anything, he had just...reacted, his guts, his instincts had screamed at him.

" _Menace, threat, he wanted to hurt mate, Hurt him, hurt him badly"._

It was not worded, nothing so clear and concise, it was a sensation, a burning anger and animal-like focus on hurting what is menacing what is yours.

And that made Takashi pause, his? he didn't even know the woman, but it was like a drug, her smell was so alluring to him that is was a damn miracle, he had not jumped at her and ravage her already, but he will not do that, he was not a fucking animal, he was a man, and like a man, he was capable enough to know when to get the hell out of there before he did something that he would forever regret.

That did not help make the situation less awkward of course.

Blushing a storm, Takashi bow in an apologizing manner to the kendo club and then hightailed the hell out of there, being followed by the humongous dog of Marikawa sensei; a dog that was following the boy with an attitude that could only be described as extremely amused.

Saeko was smiling at the what she had seen, it was not the amazing feat of taking down eight people in a blink by a boy, a boy that it was evident had no experience with martial arts, more a brawling style of fight.

What made her smile and experiment a little flush in her cheeks was the eyes of the boy.

They were the same as hers, the same darkness that plagues her, the same self-hate that she had for herself was being reflected in the eyes of another teenager in the same school as hers.

She had found someone that could understand her, that could understand the darkness and excitation that came with violence and blood.

And the fact that he was a cute boy was a plus, concluded her in her mind.

"Well, no doubt Komuro-kun is an interesting fellow" chuckled Saeko looking at the sprawled bodies of the supposed attackers.

"Taka baka, what the hell had you done this time!?" screamed Saya exiting through the door of the roof, where Takashi, Kohta, and Morita where peacefully having a break before the evening classes, Takashi never misses Hayashi-sensei classes, her voice was one of the few things that made school bearable.

"Uh" was the clever response of Takashi as he arched an eyebrow at the outburst of Saya, tossing a glance at Kohta and Morita, who just shrugged and get a proverbial step back, leaving Takashi alone at the ire of the temperamental girl.

"Traitors" growled in amusement Takashi, knowing full well that he would have done exactly the same if he was in their shoes.

Saya was pack.

There was no other way to look at it, no matter how much she screamed and give him an earful almost every day, she was pack, and Takashi knew that all that she did was always for the best of him.

She was a genius, Takashi was not, so he tended to trust fully in the judgment of the pink haired bombshell, one of the most beautiful girls of the school, and one of the closest friends he had.

"How did you manage to injure or cripple half of the football team?" screamed Saya reaching were Takashi was and grabbing him by the ear.

It hurt, but Saya was allowed to do that; after all, she usually had very good reasons to berate him; Takashi didn't really trust himself, not even with the plugs and the medicine, no matter how good had it done to him since he started to drink it.

"Tsunoda and his thugs" snorted Morita to Kohta " they tried to pull one on Takashi and it backfired spectacularly" shrugged the hormonal boy, deducting easily what really did happen.

"You shut up pervert" glared Saya at Morita who promptly shut up but loved to be scolded by the big breasted teenager.

"I know you are strong if you really wanted you could have broken them like twigs" Saya continued to scold Takashi " that's why you should be more careful when you are dealing with people, even if they are those scumbags".

"Saya.." sighed Takashi " I was being careful, one of them was punching me like a punching bag, I did nothing, I swear, I took it like a good boy" the sarcasm was audible in the tone of Takashi.

Takashi knew full well the consequences of what could happen if he even lost control once, and hit somebody without restraints; if he could shatter stone and bend steel barehanded, what could he did to weak human flesh?.

"But then, Tsunoda threaten Busujima-senpai and...I saw red, I wanted to hurt him, I barely control myself so I only broke his hand and did not tore his limbs and beat the shit out of him with them".

"Man, now that's some anger issues" whispered Morita in the background " you had it hard, uh?".

"Believe me, Saya, I was controlled, otherwise I would be already on my way to the reformatory" commented Takashi like it was the weather and Saya, sighed and let his ear go.

She was not as stupid to believe the rumors about how Takashi was the responsible for the beatings, Tsunoda and his thugs had not precisely the best of the reputations around the student body, their only redeeming quality was how they did manage to be a very solid football team and win a lot of tournaments for the school.

In a country like Japan, the competition was a very common thing, only the best for the best, and for a school like Fujimi High School where some of the best are being taught, keep up with a good name and a good streak of results was something that must be done at all cost.

That's why the football team found out a lot of their transgressions sweep under the carpet, so they could keep getting results, even if they were a bunch of motherfuckers and had bullied half of the school that could not defend themselves.

"Look Takashi" Saya started " I will not insult you by telling you that I understand, pretty much, you are a unique specimen," said Saya " but for the same reasons, please do not be reckless, especially now that your treatment did look like it was bringing up results".

"Pretty words apart, chill up dude" resume Morita, earning himself another glare from Saya.

Morita had a crush the size of a skyscraper on the pinkette girl, and he had already confessed her three times and be shot down all three of them.

Takashi found the show pretty interesting, although his heart hurts each time, as he could see Rei and him when he did ask her for the first time; but since the appearing of Saeko in his hormones radar, the violet-haired woman has become the main protagonist of the most savage wet dreams he has never had.

Lust was a delicate topic around Takashi, he was a hormonal teenager, as neck deep in puberty as any other, but considering his enhanced senses and anger issues; more than any sane libido, what he has was rabid heat; more proper of an animal than a human; he found a female that his brain like and he will fuck her again and again and again...

He hated himself for that, he wanted a relationship, not some kind of cheap kiss and tell; however the closest thing he had ever had to a true relationship, it was with Rei and all could see how well did that end.

Since then he has not been close to any girl of his age, not to mention how all of them were superficial teenagers or prefer more down to earth guys that had none of the flaws of Takashi and his hypersensitivity or oversized libido.

At this day, Saya was the only girl his age he could talk; Marikawa-sensei was a very good woman, but he was older than him, Hayashi-sensei was in the same boat.

Of course, having a friend like Morita means that he knew all about all the beauties in the school; his list was as perverted as it could, but Takashi could appreciate the fact that Morita talked to him in a normal way, despite all the tales that surrounded Takashi.

That night, that accursed night was still weighing on him even after almost a year.

Last time he tried to drown his brain in drugs, the results were unpleasant to say the last, and he lost his virginity without a fucking idea about how did he manage to do it, except for the amateur porn video that did not exist, period.

"Leaving apart the idiotic but accurate point of the pervert" snarled Saya glaring dagger at Morita " you have to relax somehow Takashi, this could have turn pear-shaped in a second".

"Takagi-san," said Kohta calling the attention to him " I do believe that we had missed something on all this".

"Uh, what do you mean Hirano?" said Saya.

Saya and Kohta were not on first name basis yet, and Takashi suspected that Saya sees a lot of his father in the boy.

For Takashi they were like the day and the night, Saya's father was a mountain of a man, a core right-wing defender, who has the high being of Japan above anything else, something that made him appear ruthless and cold heart as he always had the best of the country at heart, before any personal feelings.

Takashi knew that Saya pays little ears to the rumors about his father and how he was very, but very similar to a Yakuza group, and after Takashi did meet the man, he could understand the foundations for those rumors, not to mention, that according to the friend of Marikawa-sensei, Saya's father was a legend about the Special forces of the JDF.

Still, Takashi respected the man for his solid principles, even if he did not like him very much, especially after the drug incident; however, there was something odd about that rumor, first he believed that Saya's father was about to chop him to pieces but instead, Souichiro Takagi, as it was his name, became...wary of him, like he was eying another dangerous predator that had suddenly appeared in your yard.

Since then, he tended to be far from the Takagi state, he hated those glares of caution, like they were waiting for him to slip up once and then they will put him out of his misery.

To prevent any misunderstanding; like him and Saya's father killing each other; Takashi opted for cutting loses and simply never go back to the state, enough shit had to deal with in the school to anything more out of the place.

"I am no a psychiatrist by any means, but so far I would say that Takashi-san had a..." he struggled with the words, not really wanting to offend his friend, neither being chewed off by Saya for being a smartass.

"Out with it Kohta, and cut with the honorifics," said Takashi who was really curious about how did his friend see him, one thing was the facade that he was convinced he was putting on the front against the world, and the other how the world saw that facade.

"Sorry if I offend you Takashi," said in advance Kohta " but you are like an animal," said bluntly and raise his bento box before Saya tried to slap him.

"That was beyond rude, asshole!" screamed Saya.

"And yet not entirely false" sighed Takashi much the surprise of everyone.

"And here I was convinced that I hide it so well" muttered Takashi " you are way more clever than the people gives you credit for Kohta".

"I had my moments?" chuckled the boy under his shield.

"Don't get it?" said Morita raising his hand like he was in class " animal? what are you talking about?".

"Imagine Takashi is a tiger" started Kohta and somehow Takashi would have preferred to be compared to a wolf than a tiger but the simile will do, it was a predator after all " and the tiger lives in a place that is constantly bothering his senses, the pollution of the cars, the perfumes, the bright neons, the noises; everything is annoying to him".

"We did know already that Takashi had hypersensitivity" noted Saya, suddenly frowning " but I didn't think about it, like that, and suddenly, your mood changes had a lot more sense".

"An annoying tiger is a very dangerous tiger" smiled Kohta " a tiger who sees something under his domains to be threatened by another predator, will be even more ferocious".

"Uh," said Morita and suddenly his eyes widened, look at Takashi and started to laugh, raising two thumbs up.

"Very good taste, pal" laughed the teenager, seeing what Kohta was going on about all this, only a person with a mind in the gutter like him, could have followed the deduction so fast.

"Taste?, what the fuck are you talking about?" frowned Takashi looking at Kohta with confusion.

"What would you have done to Tsunoda, if he would have threatened Miyamoto-san when you two were dating?" asked Kohta and Takashi froze.

"Oh, come on!" shouted Saya with the arms raised " please don't tell me that is the worlds extremest case of Puppy love!".

Morita was still laughing, but Kohta soon joined the other boy as Saya muttered obscenities and curses about hormones, stupid boys, and ridiculous crushes.

Takashi, on the other hand, was petrified.

He had a crush?, a crush?, that was preposterous, he couldn't have one of those, lust?, sure, Libido out of the roof? always, but crushes? that was stupid.

No matter if Busujima-senpai was one of the most beautiful girls he had never set eyes upon, with a body to die for and the most delightful smell ever, not to mention those pink and luscious lips of hers that...wait, what?.

Since when had he...oh, shit.

He had a crush.

Crap.

Takashi knew he was a dangerous boy, heck, the event with that idiot, Tsu whatever his name was, had already more than prove his point about how dangerous could he be, and he was with kiddy gloves on.

As he once knocked out cold a professional boxer in one single punch; something that scare the shit out of him more than anything; he knew that he was not a fighter by any means, his only advantage was mostly his inhumane strength and his kinetic vision, he could move faster than even seasoned boxers and hit like a truck when he wanted.

But so far, he had never test out his physical capabilities against real fighters, he did not see the reason why should he broke anyone just because he wanted to test out if he could kill a person barehanded.

He knew he could do it, with frightening easiness, if he paid attention to the rumors about his achievements during the accursed drug night of his, half of the gangs of the district fear him like a plague as he managed to claw a path among them like a hot knife through butter.

Perhaps that's why he was hunting down the road a black van, he was sure that he was going to tear all of them apart for what they have done when he would put his hands on them.

It happened almost by accident, as usual, he left Saya and Kohta in the train station, and made a running for his house, today was the day, where he would receive by mail, a piece that he needed to complete his bike, and he was eager to install it and take the complete piece for a ride around the city.

He reached his house, drink a liter of medicine to quell his nerves, has a nice and pleasant chat with his parents and after recovering the piece from the mail, passed almost all the time until the night, tinkering in his bike, giving the machine the final touches it needed to be complete.

As the evening pass, Takashi had a great time with his little project.

He always had a good hand with mechanics, his father was a mechanic and he would most probably follow his footsteps and became one; machines always were good to him, and one of the few noises and smells that did not nauseate him.

Well, until the plugs and the medicine enter into the equation, with that ingredients, he could almost cook himself a normal life.

Then his libido played a nasty one on him, by crushing and crushing hard on the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

But no matter, he had finished his bike and taking the keys and after telling his parents that he was going out for a test drive to his bike, he ignited the motor and with the brightest smile he had in a year, he delighted himself in the roar of the motor of the bike.

He drove the bike into the streets, he had no license for a bike in this capacity, it was way beyond his driving license, but it matters not to him right now, that he was driving down the streets, hitting the empty roads and enjoying the sensation of the machine under him, the wind in his face, the roar of the engine each time he changed the speed.

For the first time in months, Takashi was having a good time.

And then, everything went south with a crash.

Literally.

He was driving into a crossroad, so he could change directions and head back to home for a well-deserved shower and dinner; he was eager to tell his parents about how well did the machine work; but as the lights turn green and Takashi drove into the crossroads, a crazy fucker crashed into him.

He and his bike fly for meters, but the pain was forgotten as he caught one smell that made his brain went directly into berserk mode; his rage pumped up his torn muscles, his bones knitted together like it was nothing.

Takashi didn't know what was happening with his body, he should be a bloody heap on the side of the road.

Yet he landed on his fours, skidding on the road for a few meters; as the torn apart bike pass over his head; snarling with bloodied teeth to the retreating figure of the van that had just drive over him like he was nothing.

It was not the action itself, accidents could happen, it was the fact that they did drive over him on deliberate purpose; otherwise, they would have stopped to see what the hell had they bumped onto; and the smell that his nose had caught from inside of the van.

Gunpowder, leather, sweat, blood and the unique and friendly smell of Saya, mixed with fear and uncertainty, a smell that made Takashi stomach churn and ignited, even more, his rage.

There was no more Takashi.

The boy had left the house when the van broke his body like a rag doll; the beast that Takashi feared had taken the control, his instincts were running on automatic, with a simple yet elegant series of instructions.

Pain: make who caused him pain, even more, pain.

Mine: someone is trying to hurt a pack mate, stealing what is ours.

Challenge: someone has hurt him on his turf and pretend to make a run for it.

In resume, the more primitive, feral, part of the mind of Takashi; a part of him that had things much more clear than him; had the driving seat now, and he was in for a bloody hunt over the asses of the ones that had dared to hurt him and stole something that belongs to his pack.

He ran.

It was utterly impossible for humans to reach a van; even if the van was not at top speed; the human fastest man was recorded over fourteen mph, but Takashi had already broken that record each evening when he was trying to get into his home after school.

And that was just a soft stroll for him.

Now, all the bets were off, and Takashi just run at a speed that would make any radar controller look twice to the numbers; it would be preposterous for a human being to be capable of reach the fifty mph mark, that would be something out of a sci-fi movie, right?.

The van did not notice the boy running after them, after all, the driver was far more focus on getting the hell out of the district of the Takagi, to notice the absurdity of a bloodied teenager running after them, and progressively shortening the space between the van and him.

The driver, had noticed how had he drive over a boy with a bike, but he was a professional, and simply called it bad luck; sucks for the boy but this job was something way too good to let it pass because some moral ethics; after all kidnapping the only daughter of the one and only Souichiro Takagi was almost a death sentence in half Japan.

Fortunately, the jobs pay was way too good to let it pass, after they took the money they could buy themselves a fucking island, and it would be possibly the only way they could flee from a monster like the Takagi.

He was a right-wing politician, who fancies himself almost like a modern feudal lord, if it wasn't for the fact that the man was insanely loaded, any sane government would have been already put into a mental asylum, with all those Japan must be strong ultra-radical shits of him, half Tokonosu fear him more than the freaking Yakuza.

And with very good reasons, no one dared to cross the Takagi's or his associates without paying a blood price, and now, the driver and his companions had been paid more than enough to get the courage to show the crazy samurai like man, that he was not the only one who could chop people and do not pay a price.

"Pedal to the metal!" echoed the muffled voice of one of his companions " we need to cross seven more blocks until we reach the safe warehouse".

"Do not yell at me, mother fucker!" replied back the driver, almost losing the control of the vehicle for the sudden shout " if you think you could do better, come here and do it yourself".

"Shut the fuck up already, you two!" screamed the leader of the team, a woman who was checking the ropes of the hostage, she knew full well how much of a bastard Takagi and his whore of a wife could be, and she would not leave anything to the luck, until she was at a country distance from both of them.

"Chill bitch" snorted one of the mercenaries, the one that had asked for more speed.

He couldn't say anything more, as the woman kicked him hard enough in the side of the head, that knocked him out cold with a single ax kick.

"Any other clever remarks from any of you?" she sweetly ask the remaining team of mercenaries.

None of them had actually the balls to defy the crazy woman; she was a bitch of the highest order, one psycho that got dumped from the special forces because she was an unstable crazy asshole that resolved anything with a high amount of casualties, no matter the sides.

She was about to order the driver to step up a little when all the van drifted to the left; it was like something had collided with them.

"What the fuck was that?!" shouted to the driver who was looking at the side mirror with his eyes almost out of his sockets.

"There is a kid perched on the side of the van!" shouted at the top of his lungs, not really believing what his eyes were seeing.

"What? are you high shithead?!" snarled the woman.

"Go see yourself, psycho!" replied the man, recovering the control of the vehicle "What the fuck?!".

That was the only warning, one of the mercenaries receive before a punch slammed against the side of the van, and created a dent big enough to almost broke the back of the head of the merc, leaving him knocked out in the cold floor of the van, in front of the incredulous eyes of the rest of the mercenaries.

"Fry the side!" order the woman, playing on the safe side of things, raising his machine gun; a solid and reliable Heckler and Koch MP7; and let the weapon burp out a long burst of bullets against the side of the van.

Another mercenary joined her in her shooting and at a couple of seconds of constant firing, they emptied their guns ammo and let the empty clips fell to the floor, before reloading and keep pointing at the side of the van.

"The boy is toast, Mikoto" laughed nervously the driver " I saw him fall full of holes, what that was shit? what kind of junkies does this city have?".

Saya, on the other hand, was devastated, she was openly crying on the floor of the van, she had a very solid suspicions about who was the one that has tried to crash the van, and for that, his best friend had paid the price and has been shot to the death by the same mercenaries that had killed a couple of guards of his state and kidnap her when she was talking with Matsudo in the garage.

The man had tried to defend her, but they shot him in the shoulder and then knock her out and toss him in the van.

She was silently sobbing on the floor of the van, it was her fault, his best friend was dead, and that was something that she would never forgive herself.

Takashi was far from dead, in fact, his body was healing at a rate that there was even soft smoke raising from the place where the bullets had pierced his hard flesh and nicked his bones; with a soft thud, a lot of bullets were ejected from his body.

He was breathing jaggedly, after the first healing, when the van had to drive over all of him, his body was running on adrenaline and now, he has had to heal all the shots he had suffered, the taxing chase after the van and the wounds for falling from a vehicle at high speed when the bullets pierced his chest and organs.

Takashi lowed his head and growled.

His rage was far from over, his anger, his wrath was fueling his body, way past even his own superhuman limits.

The chase has done nothing but begun.

The warehouse was a very anodyne building in the corner of the city, a warehouse among warehouses, nothing special about it; that was why it was so perfect for the mercenary team to hide and wait for the contractor to give them the instructions about where to deliver the package and pick up the paychecks for a job well done.

The leader of the mercenary team was drinking beer, lazily sat on a devastated and parched couch in one of the offices of the warehouse; the office came with the warehouse, and it was one of the few places where you could have a measure of intimacy.

Not that she gives a fuck about that, if any of the guys of the team, dared to even ogle her luscious ass, she will put a bullet in his crotch; in a world of men, It was the only way for a woman to get a measure of respect and space.

There was a couple of men among of the mercenaries that had been professional enough to earn a nod from her, and one of them had a cute ass to ride; but she would deal with that later, after this job was cashed, she would pay all the gigolos she could need to scratch that itch.

Until then, she would keep everybody hands out of her first class meat and of course, by doing so, she was dammed to be the babysitter of the little bitch of Takagi; she had to admit it, the girl was doing the puberty right, she had quite the rack.

Much like the whore of her mother, that cocksucker managed to fuck Takagi one night, and the day after they were married; not much of a surprise when not a year later, this little cow breasted pinkette was born.

Mikoto; the leader of this kidnapper impromptu team of mercenaries; had an ax to grind with daddy Takagi long before any of this kidnapping was even planned.

For what she knew, all of this was nothing but a bitch slap for Souichiro Takagi, to remind him that all his crap about honor, samurais and whatever the fuck he preached on, was bullshit and the real world had guns and little morals about do not use it to ram the bullets up his ass.

She was one of the first trainees that Takagi; a legend in the JDF; took after he retired from the active service and start to teach the younger generations how to do the shit.

Mikoto was the best, she knew it, everyone knew it, heck, even the enemies knew it; they run the hell out of there before engaging the Witch of Tokonosu.

And yet, that bastard of Souichiro dump her ass out of the JDF with some bullshit about dishonorable actions and how was more of a danger for her own team than for the enemy.

Fuck that shit, she was the best and they know it.

She was a woman, a woman that could beat the shit of any of them blindfolded; and none of their macho shit minds was capable to comprehend that simple fact; so they dumped her talented ass into the streets, she couldn't even protest against that shit; Takagi's words was the fucking bible for those cocksuckers.

Mikoto loaded a clip on her gun, and look out for another beer as she tossed the empty can to the face of the tied up Saya, hitting her forehead and leaving a red mark on her skin.

The teenager had her eyes red and swollen for the crying she has done all the way to the warehouse; Mikoto didn't expect the progeny of Takagi to be such a soft bitch, but half of her blood comes from a cheap whore that opened her legs for Souichiro and got knocked up, so perhaps she was a momma bitch more than a daddy girl.

Anyhow, Mikoto didn't give a shit about the girl, for what she cared, she could be sold to the cheaper brothel in the city, for being fucked by dogs if that was what turned on the shitheads that went to fap themselves onto that shithouses.

Still, she was a professional, and the contract specifies that the girl was to be kept alive and as healthy as they could.

That didn't include a couple of bruises to keep her quiet, she was quite the bitch when she wanted and Mikoto had to punch her a couple of times, to shut her up, before they duct tape her shitty mouth; although, Mikoto pick up a couple of very interesting insults.

"So you are the little pig that came from the mistake night of daddy Takagi uh?" chuckled Mikoto and pick up another beer, she still had a couple of hours, before the contractor call for the price and she could kill some time by fucking around with this little slut.

Saya did not say a word; mostly for the duct tape, otherwise she would already curse the woman with all the hate and vile she could, as she was guilty of the death of her best friend and two of the guards of the mansion; instead, she just glared the woman with her swollen eyes.

Saya knew that Takashi was dead, that he had to die because her; that he tried to help her and this monsters; way more monsters that the kind and cautious Taka baka would ever be; had shot him to death, they had emptied their guns on him, and despite the wall of the van, she was sure that Takashi had taken enough bullets to kill a dozen persons; they had shot all they had against him.

"Ok, play the silent routine" shrugged Mikoto " I don't care, I will just have the most expensive drink of this cesspit of a city meanwhile as you are going to be raped, killed, tortured or all of those and then be sent into little pieces to your daddy, to remember him that he is not the Shogun of Japan" laughed the woman.

Mikoto took a sip from her drink and just had an epiphany, fuck, if the slut was going to be killed anyway, why did not have her own pound out of those cow utters of hers, so similar to the ones of her mom in all those expensive magazines she appears as the golden slut she is.

With a wicked smile, she unsheathed the combat knife of her combat jacket and tap her jaw a couple of times, looking at the girl with calculating gaze.

"Left or right?" asked the girl.

Saya just stared in confusion and fear to the crazy psychotic woman, not sure about what the hell was she speaking about.

"I am going to take my pound of flesh from you" simply smiled the woman " and I thought, why I did not chop one of your jugs and send it to your momma for Christmas?" the laughed pointing at her with the knife.

"So, tell me little piggy, what is going to be?" ask Mikoto walking to the terrified Saya, who tried to move away from the crazy bitch.

Fear was painted all over Saya swollen eyes and pale face, she was going to die at the hands of a psychotic bitch with an ax to grind with her parents, Takashi had already paid the price for being her friend and now it was her turn, just because she was a Takagi.

Mikoto grabbed the pink hair of Saya; Saya was about to scream but then, the screams started out of the office.

"What the fuck is going out there!?" roared Mikoto, tossing Saya to the floor, and brutally smashing the side of her face against the cold floor of the office.

The mercenary grabbed her gun with one hand and with the combat knife in the other, she exited the office, just in time to see the rest of the mercenaries, shoot their guns to a side of the warehouse.

"Stop shitheads, that's the fuse box!" shouted Mikoto but it was already too late.

The bullets pierced through the flimsy metal cover of the box and destroyed all the electric inside, provoking a blackout all over the warehouse.

With a loud noise and a lot of sparks, the red emergency lights of the warehouse lighten the scene, and at the sight, Mikoto swore loudly.

From the mercenary team, there was only five of them alive.

The other two were dead, one with the neck snapped back like he was an extra from the exorcist and the other with a hole in his chest and his heart on the floor, in a puddle of his own blood.

"What the fuck?" ask Mikoto to the air " what the hell happened here?" demanded to the survivors, who were in a close circle, pointing their guns at the darkness out of the red lights "who of you assholes did this?, are you out of your shitty mind?".

The irony of the statement did escape from Mikoto's notice but she had other worries right now, for starters the creeping sensation about how she, as crazy as she was, had found something, even more, crazier than her.

She was not mistaken but, at the same time, this was not a matter of insanity or having a common grudge against anyone, this was a beast, taking retribution on those that had hurt him and tried to stole something from him.

Takashi was crouching on one of the iron beams of the warehouse, five meters over the heads of the mercenaries and hiding in the dark spots of the place, out of the reach of the red emergency lights.

His usual brown eyes had changed color to a soft red with a big black pupil, that miss no detail of the scene under him.

Takashi was not conscious of what he was doing, or at last, not entirely conscious, the beast part of his mind had the control, and was driving the body; way beyond his limits; into the achievements of two clear results.

First, kill all these intruders, second get back the female pack mate.

Takashi soon identify the weak link of the chain, the female on the office was the leader, all about her smell, attitude and words spoke volumes of how she was the main threat; however, one of the men below him was not the case, he was nothing but meat.

The teenager crawl in silent all over the beam, waiting for the perfect moment to strike and kill the man; all his sore muscles; even after all the damaged and healing they had suffered; were more than enough to crush the man head, and his recently grow claws were a welcoming addition.

Takashi had not yet entirely assume that he had now a retractable set of claws, each one of them a two inches nails capable of rending steel like it was wet paper, they had grown, the moment that he had been run over by the van, as a response for the aggression.

Much like the fangs of his mouth, each one of them capable of biting the jugular of any of this mercenaries; even with the armor on; without any problem.

He was armed and dangerous, with the weapons that nature had given to him to hunt and kill.

And these poor sods were the first preys on the menu.

He waited, the mercenaries cover all the warehouse looking for him, but he was never in the same place twice, he was always on their shadows, and that was grating on their nerves, they were scared, they thought they were safe; they couldn't be more mistaken.

Without a sound, Takashi moved in all fours over the metallic structure of the warehouse and when he reached the perfect spot, he hanged upside down; directly at the back of the head of one of the mercenaries that were pointing his gun with evident nervousness over everything in front of him.

Pity the danger came from behind.

Takashi ripped his throat with his claws; and the mercenary barely had time to gurgle, as his Adan apple was torn out of his throat, dying in a pool of his own blood.

"Takato!" appeared another of the mercenaries, with a machine gun pointing around, covering any possible ambush.

He soon checked the body, found that he was dead, his throat rip off like somehow had to grind his neck over a chainsaw.

"Fuck this!" snarled the mercenary and without losing his awareness, made a run for the emergency exit of the warehouse.

There was no amount of money that could be paid enough for this shit.

Working with Crazy Mikoto, the Witch of Tokonosu was already motive enough to run the hell out of there, but this was a way too much, he had already lost two buddies at the hand of a crazy fucker, one that was capable of stalking them.

He was going to get the hell out of there; the money was useless if you are dead.

And he did had a point, even from the beginning, this job was risky, everybody knew It, they were going after the daughter of a legend in the JDF, a man who was the leader of a right-wing group that; if you paid attention to the rumors; was capable of measure himself against the Yakuza.

However, the sudden sensitiveness came a little late; if he would have rejected the job, he would have lived; but now, he was nothing but another number in the body count, and when he reached the door of the emergency exit, he just discovered it a second or two before he felt a hellish pain on the base of his back, then a cold sensation running through his skull and then everything went black.

Takashi was standing behind the mercenary corpse, with his spine and skull, ripped from the corpse in a show of gore and devastating strength, the bloodied trophy hanged from his claws, as he exhaled in silent, crouching and sniffing for another prey, tossing the spine and the skull to the side, like it was nothing, then he disappeared again into the shadows.

Two down, four to go.

The rest of the mercenaries, started to move all over the warehouse, looking for the bastard that was hunting them down, the fucker had already marked two victims, Takato and Sento; none of them was precisely the soldier of the year, and they that would only make the paycheck of the rest bigger, as it was fewer people to share with.

But for that, they would have to deal with the hunter first.

Mikoto loaded her MP7 and made a sweep on the upper floor, just in case there was more than one person taking them down, it was clear that whoever was doing this, was a crazy motherfucker that did not use guns, but close combat weapons.

Mikoto knew she was a dangerous bitch, that she was one of the most dangerous women that exist in the country; along that bitch of Rika Minami, Mikoto really wanted to have a go at the tanned whore, she would demonstrate that she was the best there is, and those cocksuckers of Souichiro and his sex toys in the military, would have to swallow their macho ego and recognized it.

Still, she would have to admit that something in this situation made her uneasy; this was not the usual ambush, in fact, all of this had no sense, who on his sane mind carries a chainsaw or thing like that to a gunfight?.

That would be stupid, to say the least; but she had witnessed first hand, of strong and cruel the fucker, could be, when he saw the stump on the back of Sento, along with the skull of the man, left behind like the toys of a child.

It is needed a lot of strength to do a shit like that, and Mikoto was not sure if a human could be able to do anything remotely similar.

A soft crunch and she turned the sight of his weapon in the direction of the sound, shot a quick burst, the bullet landed in the headless corpse of Kenji; the driver of the van; the body just fall backward from the punch of the bullets over it, tossing it against an empty container.

Bloody chunks of what was his head smeared the floor and the ceiling, smashed like two hammers had collided with his head in the middle of the clash.

She swore under his breath.

Three down, three to go.

Mikoto walked all over the rail that stands on an upper level of the warehouse; so she could have a complete visual of the place and keep pointing his gun for any movements; she checked the upper side of the warehouse, as the ceiling would be a perfect place for hits and runs tactics.

As she checked the metal and plastic structure, another sickly sound, as something tearing flesh apart, followed by the loud echo of automatic fire, thundered over all the place, making Mikoto clench her teeth harder and move to the origin of the sound.

Laying spasmodically in a pool of his own blood, one of the last three survivors of the mercenary group was bleeding himself to death, with his guts open and all his innards spilled over the floor of the warehouse, in a show of gore and brutality, as his stomach did look like something has disemboweled him with a chainsaw.

The click, click of the empty rifle was the only sound left, as he died before he could even see what the fuck had gutted him like a fish; in a death spasm, he had to pull the trigger and shower the place with bullets.

The last of the mercenaries jumped over a container, and jump from place to place, to reach the place where the last corpse laid, pooling the place with his blood and inner fluids, along with a penetrating smell of shit, as his intestines ripped open by whatever attacked him.

"What the fuck?" cursed the last of the male mercenaries, covering his nose from the horrid stench of the shit and the blood of the spilled guts all over the floor " who did this shit?, Mikoto did you see anythigggrrl..!".

As he turned his face to Mikoto on the upper floor, the last male mercenary didn't see a broken piece of metal, product of the shower of bullets of the rifle on the floor; still clicking in emptiness; flying directly at his chest, piercing his back and thanks to the immense strength behind the throw, all his front exploded in a gore shower, shattering his ribs, heart and organs in a shower of mincemeat.

A grenade from the inside would have done a similar damage, mute testimony of the inhuman strength behind the killer attack.

Mikoto lost it, that was impossible, fuck, there was nothing out there that could do a shit like that, not even a crazy muscle head like Souichiro, this was way out of her league, but whatever was out there, hunting those meatheads that she had to endure as squadmates for this mission would probably be here for one single thing.

Mikoto run into the office and surrounded Saya neck with the arm of the knife, pointing the weapon at the jugular of the girl, who was confused and terrified for the sudden change in the expression and forms of Mikoto.

Not a minute ago, she was about to chop her tits as a sickening trophy, and now the bitch was scared shitless of whatever had happened outside.

Saya had already heard the screams and the shooting, she was relieved at first, it would mean that his parents had found her or the police or whoever, but for the sounds and the time, it was clear that this was not the usual operation of the police, nor any other military she had never ear off.

Granted she was not a gun otaku like Hirano, but she was the daughter of a legend in the Special Forces, and she knew a couple of things about how did the things go in an assault with hostages involved.

None of those things had happened in the time since the first shot and scream echoed, and now that she was being dragged by the neck by a completely freaked out psycho like Mikoto.

Saya was utterly terrified.

She didn't want to die here, she didn't want to die as a lesson for his parents, she didn't want to die before she could apologize to Takashi's family for being the cause of the death of their son; she was crying again and she hated herself for it.

She was weak, she could do nothing but be drag here and there by this psychotic bitch, without being able to do anything, nor prevent the death of her friend, one of the few that had always treat her as Saya, not as Takagi-sama, but as Saya, and the mere thought of never having him around was like an ice pick to her heart.

"Ok, cocksucker!" screamed Mikoto exiting the office with Saya on her left arm, just a pull, and Mikoto would slit the throat of the girl "I got the slut, come out or I am going to made her look like a fucking candy dispenser".

There was only silence as a response, just the sparks of the box, the click of the rifle of one of the corpses and the constant smell of the blood and innards of the dead.

Saya could see now, what had Mikoto's panties in a twist, and she freaked out as much as the psycho mercenary, but at the same time, in her heart, a crazy hope was fighting to find a path, there was hope that a miracle could occur.

Unfortunately, not in the way she would expect.

Mikoto was so busy keeping Saya still, that she lost focus on what was surrounding her; she was freaked out, and what was worst, nothing about this job was normal, she just wanted to kill the little pig slut of Souichiro Takagi and made a run; she wanted to live but before he could say another thing a shadow attack both her and Saya for behind.

A couple of hands, strong as iron bear traps, grab Mikotos wrists from both arms and spread her arms, releasing Saya; who fall to the floor, free of the grapple of Mikoto.

"Ahhhh, motherfucker!" screamed Mikoto, before she felt the pain of her broken wrists, broken under the pressure of the hands that had to grab her and spread her arms.

She kicked backwards, slamming her talon against a leg, but it has been like kicking solid steel, the pressure on her arms did not budge an inch, in fact, suddenly she screamed at the top of her lungs, when the figure that had her trapped, started to pull, tearing muscled and dislocating joints, with a sudden, brutal, pull, both her arms were torn apart from her torso in a shower of blood and rend muscles.

Screaming like a banshee, Mikoto fall to the floor of the warehouse, a couple of meters under her; and with a sick crunch, break her neck in the nasty fall.

Saya eyed the battered and bloodied form of her savior, the hope, and the fear battled inside her brain as the predatory smirk of Takashi was registered in her optic eyes.

"Hi, theeee..." trailed Takashi, as he slowly lost consciousness, falling backward in front of a petrified Saya.


	2. What a mess

Sometimes, having an enhanced earring was a complete pain in the ass, each drop of the serum at his arm was like a drum, the beeps of the machines around him were the worst nightmare one could imagine, and he did not prefer to spoke about the smells of a hospital.

Now, that was disgusting.

But, as a positive side effect, he could listen to the conversation his parents were keeping with the doctor at the other side of the door, as he awoke from whatever the hell has happened to him.

He remembered being ram by an asshole with a black van, but after that, it was all a blur, he remembered blood, running on a road, bullets, lots and lots of bullets; more blood and finally fading to black with a fulfilling sensation all over his pained body.

"I had never seen anything like this" echoed the voice of the doctor at the other side of the door " when the ambulance bring him here, he was covered in blood from head to toe, he was like he had been beaten to the dead and now, he is perfectly well; Takagi-san said he had been shot, several times, his clothes were full of holes but there is not even a single wound on him".

Takashi raised an eyebrow in the darkness of the room, he knew the lights were off, yet he could see perfectly well in the lowly illuminated room, his sight was mostly in tones of gray and black, another of the jokes his own body played to him, but leaving apart the increased sight; night vision, if his guess was correct; he felt better than he had felt in weeks.

He eyed the needle in his arm, it was the one that had been pouring serum into him, not that he needed it and with a single pull, he took out the long needle, observing in fascination, how the tiny hole in his arm closed at an astonishing pace.

"Da fuck?" whispered Takashi blinking at the image.

Almost with fear, Takashi observed his own hands and with a progressive freaked out expression, he could see how his nails grew to a length of three inches, more than enough to cause a lot of harm to anything around him, especially if he added his own inhumane strength to the mix.

"What the fuck is this shittttt!?" whined in a low tone the teenager, who had no idea of what the fuck was going on here.

His ears picked up the sound of a lot of feet moving to his room, and he retreated back his nails, loudly sighing in relief at how the nails obeyed his will and just became common nails, a bit larger than he would like them to be but...

The door opened and he discovered that his eyes were far more sensitive than usual to the lights, in resume, the sudden illumination had left him blind and he just covered his eyes with his arms, with a feral growl building in his throat; he picked up the smell of his mother, closer than the rest, and then suddenly he found himself in a bear hug.

"Hello mom, I am sorry for this," said Takashi, with his eyes still closed but hugging back his mom with his arms.

"You idiot" hiccuped his mom, and Takashi felt a deep pang of guilt, even with all the shit his life had on big doses, neither his mom or dad had ever given up about him, and now he almost gives them a heart attack.

"I am sorry," said Takashi " I really am".

"Don't be, Takashi." Said his father, with a hand over his shoulder " you did something very reckless, but you did save Saya-chan, and that was something to be proud of".

Takashi smiled at his father, slowly open his eyes, trying to accustom them to the lights of the surroundings; if only the poor man knew of what Takashi has done, how he barely remember to tear all of those, whatever they were, apart with fangs, claws, and bestial strength perhaps he would not be so proud of his son.

Or perhaps he will, his father has been a supportive influence on Takashi since day one, and even if he had this...bestial problems, his father had supported him, no matter what was going on, he always was his little Takashi...even if he was slowly becoming as tall as him.

"How is Saya?" asked Takashi, who did not let go of his mom, as she wanted to be sure that his boy was alive and well.

"Where is the needle for the serum?" blinked his father at the arms of Takashi, free of the needle that had been pouring medicines and serum into him for a big part of the night.

"Saya" insisted Takashi sighing, he would worry about that later, seeing his recently found healing powers, the serum and whatever they were pouring on him was waste of resources that could be used on people that really need it.

"Oh, she was okay, she almost had a heart attack when you collapsed after saving her, but apart from that and a couple of bruises, she was fine" said Takashi's dad " her parents took her back to their manor, but Sou and Yuriko wanted to thank you personally as soon as you wake up, you did impress them son" laughed Takashi's dad.

"I will visit them, but for now on, I just want to go home" whined Takashi.

He just wanted to left this place, only the comforting smell of his parents made the place bearable, he really hated hospitals, the smells were just offensive to his sensitive nose and the constant beeping of the machines was no better.

"Well see son, but you had the medics panties in a twist" chuckled the man, who scratched the back of his head in sheepishness at the glare of his wife " they couldn't explain how could you be so healthy, especially after how you entered here like you just had twelve no holds barred rounds with Cassius Clay".

"The reports of my state have been greatly exaggerated" chuckled Takashi, if only, being a loyal to the classes of Hayashi-sensei had his benefits after all.

"Mark Twain?, seriously?" chuckled Takashi father.

"Ey, if the shoe fits..." replied Takashi " now, can we go home now?, I hate hospitals".

Once again, Takashi knew it, it was a consequence of how the teenage mind works, not even a day after his release from the hospital; even if the doctors were freaked out with his unique case, and Takashi threatened them to jump out of the window if they tried to did another battery of proofs to him; the rumor mill of Fujimi High School enter into an overload mode with all kind of bullshit.

Well, Takashi, who had a faint memory of what happened in that warehouse; had to admit that the truth was sometimes, even more, preposterous that some rumors, but the rumor about how this was an eloping attempt that gone wrong were one of the most stupid things he had ever ear.

Saya was not a lover, she was part of the pack and...wait, what?.

Takashi blinked a pair of times, as he was leaning on the side of the snack machine, he was in the mood for something sweet, even if the medicine had a mint taste, something he didn't really mind; drinking a liter of it per day was something that would soon made anyone looking for something different to taste.

And he was in the mood for something sweet, as the day has started in a very good way, first of all, he didn't even need his earplugs, his ears were better than any human, but not at the level that a ringtone would be like the bells of the apocalypse for him.

Anyhow, where did that, part of the pack thing, came from?, OK, he could admit that he had a few people that he would protect from the hordes of hell if it was needed, but from that to call them pack, like they were animals, was taking the things a little too far.

Takashi did not notice it, but he was doing the equivalent of an ostrich when they sensed danger, bury the head in the ground and let the danger pass, in truth; but only from his point of view; it was understandable, he was an average teenager, nothing special about him, except his hypersensitivity, and that was more a drag than a bless.

All his life, he has been doing the same, hides, runs, trying to be as normal as possible; taking great efforts to ignore his seizures or control them somehow, be it with music, drugs, whatever works; until the medicine of Doctor Morgan, he did not have any real results.

But the actions of the past days, all the rescue of Saya; his forced release of the hospital, all of that did produce a change in him, he could not see it as clear as the rest, but for the people that knew him, Takashi was way more active and healthier than before.

He was not always with constant headaches, he was more controlled, even if from time to time his senses played him some tricks, and what was best, he was showing interest in the opposite sex again.

Even if he was in denial, he had to admit that there was something about Saeko Busujima that did enrapture him, and he was only speaking about her obvious gorgeous body, easily supermodel level; he was talking about her demeanor, her attitude, her impressive skill, everything on her was perfect.

His brain and his instincts were having a constant debate about that matter, she had a monumental crush on the violet-haired goddess or it was something deeper? something that he only felt for a very select group of women, something that went way beyond a crush and developed into an animal lust that made his cock went into erection just as the thought of those women and their bodies.

Those dreams, dear Kami, he was mostly sure, that if he did to those women, half of the things he did to them on his dreams, they will be crippled for life; he was...savage ;to say the least; in his dreams, taking them; yes Them, in plural; with the frenzy of an animal on mating season.

Plural, the number of women that had invaded his dreams was plural, and that was another bothering inconvenience, he was not very much into polygamy, mostly because Takashi was pretty much convinced he was going to be a horrid boyfriend; using as base for that statement, his experiences in the only relationship he has had in his life.

Once again, he was in the ostrich conundrum again, Takashi could not see, that despite the protest of Rei about how closed up he was, she had never been with such a devoted man, a boy that only wanted her to be happy, that take great measures to ensure that she was having a good time.

And to keep her safe from his libido, more than once, when the puberty hit him like a train, Takashi wanted to jump at her and ravage her until his inhuman libido would be sated; so far his willpower was enough to deal with such seizures but after the event in the warehouse...

He didn't know what to think anymore, and as any confused teenager; under all that suffering and immense power, he was still a seventeen years old boy; he just...let it roll, there was nothing he could do to change how the things went, no matter how much he would love to do it.

Worst was that he lost his bike, his bike was completely trashed, and the police officer that pick up the wreckage during the investigation did comment how impossible it was for Takashi to not be wounded or even crippled if he was riding the bike, that would mean that he received the same hit, and the bike; supposedly the sturdier of the two, was completely trashed.

Takashi, shrugged and just ask if he could go home now, he hated being in the police station, not only for the faint smells he could pick up; Rei was the daughter of an officer and her smell, as faint as it could be among the rest of the odors of the police station, was still a powerful beacon for Takashi.

On a side note, the thought of Saeko senpai and her Kamidess like appearance was capable of sending him out of the loop with Rei and into an entirely new game of libido.

Fortunately, he was so tired that night that he just sighed, picked up the leftovers of his beloved bike and went back to his little garage, to cry in peace for his fallen comrade.

He loved that bike, it was his pride and joy.

He wept like a child in his home, his mother tried to console him; the poor woman was already freaked out about how his son seems to be the one that has butchered like cattle the kidnappers of the daughter of the Takagi household; but the poor boy was crying his heart out at the loss of his beloved bike.

Takashi mom tried to cheer him up a little, but considering how bad had the things the boy every single day, she just stood there, hugging and consoling her poor son, as best as she could.

Taking the rest of the machine, Takashi reassembled the leftover as best as he could, and sniffing, vowed himself to complete the bike one day, as best as he could, even if it takes him years.

He couldn't know at that moment, but his bike would be the last of his worries, at the horrors that will come his way.

But first, he would have to deal, with the horror of his everyday life, starting with the madness of the rumor mill of High school.

It has been said before, how the rumors and conjectures about what happened during the kidnapping of Saya, went directly out of the roof and how preposterous a lot of them were; however, and despite how Takashi just really wanted to get to school in peace, his fame about being a dangerous child to be around just increased.

With two interesting positive consequences and a lot of drawbacks.

As the biggest drawback was the fact that everybody and their grandmother seem to have discovered how Takashi was the child of the devil or something like that, it does seem that a fucker in the station flap his mouth in the wrong place, and the parents of one student ear about it.

They ask their progeny, the progeny ask around, the rumors went overload, the usual progression.

Really, Takashi was a very good student, Hayashi sensei could speak about how good student he was, even if it was because Takashi had a massive sound crush on her beautiful voice; still, his constant headaches and mood swings as consequence of his enhances senses, and of course the beating of some fagots in front of the entire athletics clubs, did little favor to his growing infamy.

Another drawback was how the pestering of the martial clubs had become; he was not interested, and he almost growls in menace when Igou get close to him, to ask if he would be interested in karate after how the rumors said that he had cleaved a thug in half barehanded; that had to be an exaggeration right?.

Takashi just smiled, in a manner that made the near Plushy snort in approval, and let Igou stunned, as he walked out of the class; not even with a glance to neither him or Rei, he was prouder of how has he became better at that; just letting his former bro, ponder about that statement.

Has he torn apart a thug? no, he had torn apart a lotof thugs.

He was not completely sure of the number, Takashi memories of that night were a little hazy to say the last, but even then, he could remember how he killed all those people, not exactly how, but sure that he did kill them, in bloody, gory and brutal manners, if the gossip that he caught around when he was recovering in the hospital was to be believed.

Speaking of that, he only pass one day at the hospital, much to the protest of the medical staff, that could barely believe how the fuck was he able to move around; considering how should he be as wrecked at his bike and not whining about how he was not at home, and wanting his mint flavored medicine.

Saya took a week before she got back into school and only because she caught ear about how Takashi ran from the hospital and went to school as if nothing had ever happened.

That was a day to remember to Morita and Kohta that laughed their asses off; at a prudent distance of course; when Saya appeared in the roof, and in display of Tsundereness that would make any Tsundere out there proud, she started to chew Takashi's ass for being a jerk, and an inconsiderate knucklehead...for the first five minutes.

Takashi endured the storm, as his senses had already picked up the real state of mind of the girl, he let the attractive teenager to scream at him, letting all her anger and worryings go out her system, and then hugged her, letting her cry her heart out, as he suspected what was really happening here.

Takashi remembered being shoot, he remembered the searing pain of the bullets entering his flesh, tearing his flesh, muscles, and bones before whatever keeps healing him, kicked in and repaired the damages like there were never there.

He was not very sure about it, but he could swear that Saya had witnessed how had they killed him in a shower of hot lead, enough to kill a dozen persons, and yet, the rise and run for an unknown amount of time, hunted and killed the kidnappers and after she was safe, Takashi finally succumbed to his own pains and aches and fell unconscious in front of the tied up Saya.

Saya couldn't know that he was only exhausted; from the point of view of the girl, her friend was shot, battered, bruised, covered in blood and grime...it was traumatizing enough, and when he fell like a bowl, she had a heart attack, she had already seen him die, but this was close and personal.

Fortunately, not long after that, and how she almost cut her own wrist trying to free herself to help her friend, an ambulance and the police came to the place, guided by the shoots and the noises, along an anonymous call to the police tipping the place as a possible Yakuza or gangs meeting to settle scores.

Any case, from Sayas eyes, Takashi was a living wreck, a piece of meat that had been shot and run over by a truck, and then he had run from hell back and forth so he could pick her up from the hands of the bastards that had kidnapped her.

Saya was a very emotional person, and just the idea of her best friend dying in front of her, just because some piss off contest between her father and one of his many rivals froze her blood; she had witnessed one of her worst nightmares became reality in front of her eyes, and until she had not found Takashi, alive and well, she was in a complete turmoil.

Morita and Kohta were clever enough to leave the two friends and pick up some quick excuse for the teachers about how the ordeal was still affecting them and all that; it had the ring of truth and it left the two old friends sometimes, so Saya could recompose herself.

Takashi tried to explain her, he really did, but she was way more clever than he and ask questions that Takashi could barely answer with a heartfelt "duh" in the best of the cases.

He revealed her his claws or very long fingernails, not to sure about that matter right now, he really didn't care about it, it was disturbing and the less he thought about it the better, of course, Saya had another entirely different opinion on the matter and she made it clear; Loud and Clear; that he would not run from this one.

Takashi had an infinite patience with the pinkette, but there was a limit for all his patience, and with a snort and giving Saya his back; knowing full well that he was a jerk and the girl deserved way better; he jumped from the spot on where they had been chatting.

Just to be tackled by Plushy in a very undignified manner, eating the floor of the backyard of the school.

Saya laughed at the scene and cheered the massive dog about how he had done well, blindsiding Takashi.

With a loud growl, Takashi rose and throw the heavy dog to the side, just for the fucker to snort in amusement, fell on his pawns and bark in defiance to Takashi, to came and get him...now that he had just picked up his phone from his pocket...headphones included.

"How on earth did you managed to do that?!" screamed Takashi to the heavens, amazed for what just had happened , not really believing it, but knowing that he had no other option, he made a run after the thrice be accursed dog, who just wagged his tail and go for a run at the sport fields of the academy.

Saya look at the two clowns and smiled, Takashi was alive, it was disturbing in a sense, and very comforting on the other, but on the other hand, his newfound oddities and qualities intrigued Saya a lot.

She was supposed to invite Takashi to her manor, as her father wanted to have a talk with him and most probably thank him for saving her life, at great personal cost, but there was something odd on his father behavior, he had never spoken about Takashi in that tone.

Sure, he liked him, even with all his quirks and oddities, Takashi was a likeable fellow when you meet him, but her father had never completely trust the boy, there was something about Takashi that makes him stand on edge around him; his father never was in the presence of Takashi without his katana, not even at home.

But before she could deliver the invitation to the boy, he had done it and make her go mad with his stubbornness, only for Plushy to fall on him like divine retribution; she really liked the big dog, not very sure about what kind of breed the beast was, but the dogs around Japan were not of that size, not even the police K-7 forces.

She laughed when she saw the two of them made a run for the sports fields of the school, uh, they were on direct route to the martial clubs.

"Oh, you sly dog, you" mussed out loud the girl, as the dog was dragging Takashi back into the dojo, just at the perfect time where his crush; Busujima-senpai; would probably be preparing the training for the kendo club.

The dog was about to throw Busujima and that idiot of Takashi in the same room, well, perhaps from that not so fortuitous accident, will Takashi pull his head out of his ass and admit that he had a crush the size of the entire school on the kendoka.

More than once had Saya asked herself why she was not on that list, she was the older friend Takashi had, but the answer came in the same phrase; friend, nothing more, he has already demonstrated that he will go to hell back and forth for her, but she did not provoke in him the same reaction that that bitch of Miyamoto, Busujima-Senpai or Hayashi-sensei provoked.

She was not an idiot and she could see perfectly well how stiff he got each time some girls came near him, how he had to concentrate in act as normal as possible, and she already deducted what the duct tape was for, the moment she discovered it, she blushed in nuclear red and almost trampled Takashi all over the school for being a pervert.

But in a corner of her mind, she just wondered how big it could be, if he needed duct tape to glue it to his leg, it must reach half the calf to the knee, otherwise it would be useless...and that made the girl almost explode in embarrassment; still, she knew that Takashi was not interested in her, at last, not in that way.

So far only Morita and Kohta had a complete list of the females that had captivated his senses, and after what happened with the kidnappers, Takashi was different, first of all, those claws of him were scary as hell but at the same time, she could detect how he was...running from it, just acting like everything was normal

That couldn't be good, in fact, and considering what she had witnessed in the warehouse where that bitch almost chopped one of her tits off; Takashi would snap sooner or later and the best result for that would be his ass on an electric chair.

Saya didn't want to admit it, but she was slightly afraid of Takashi, he was a monster of the biggest order, strong, armed and dangerous; she really didn't want to feel like that, but the curse of her own intelligence works against her most of the times, and she could see how Takashi would, one day, turn his rage against a weak and fragile human and tore him or her to pieces.

Enough had the boy to deal with, and she pretended for him to enjoy his school life as much as he could, something that it was not as easy as it sounds; in reality, school was a complete nightmare for him, only after the remedy of Doctor Morgan did he experimented a shadow of a normal life.

And everything went south when he beat the crap out of Tsunoda and some of his friends; all in front of the eyes of the clubs all around the sports fields.

Saya had to admit, that it did seem that the world had an ax to grind with Takashi.

Said Takashi was already on the hunt for his phone; hanging from the mouth of the dog; despite his annoyance at having to actually run behind the big dog, there was a part of him that greatly enjoyed the hunt, that loved to run and chase after a prey.

Not that Plushy was in prey category, deep down, he knew that the monstrous dog was more than a match for him, even with his new and flashy claws thrown into the mix, and his untested and still not desired increased physical capabilities.

He was conscious of how had he managed to survive the van smashing him and his bike, just to catch it running and then being shot several times; enough times to kill anyone, several times; before falling from the sides of the van and after he recovered, chase it like a dog after a stick and kill everybody on that warehouse, except Saya.

In resume, he was terrified of himself.

He didn't even want to think about what he can do now if he ever snaps badly at someone, he could seriously harm the people around him; so far his control has been great in that aspect.

By the way, he didn't have any remorse about what he has done to the mercenaries on the warehouse, some instinct on him told him that, what he has done, was completely right, was the thing that has to be done; they had dared to hurt his pack, so he hurt them back, a lot.

In a way, Takashi was scared out of his mind, about how easily has he dealt with the idea of murder; after all, that was exactly what he did in the warehouse; he murdered a lot of people, with his bare hands or an occasional improvised weapon.

Not very sure of it, it was all a blur of red; he couldn't trust his memories, as he could only recall violence, blood, and a burning sensation all over his mind, urging him to kill, kill everything that is not part of the pack.

Both, dog and boy; run all over the fields again, as the sports clubs look at them; some with confused expressions, other with "not, again" kind of face, and a few enjoying the spectacle, they had already seen it once, and they had to admit that it was impressive.

Not really a surprise, there was an open hunt for Komuro among the sports clubs, especially the track and field club and the martial arts school; but so far, he had shown zero interest in any of those, being a happy member of the going home early club.

Once again, Takashi managed to hunt the dog, when he finally tackle the beast into a support beam of the dojo.

Then the magnitude of what he has done hit him like a train, he realized that he had intruded in the dojo, scratching the wooden surface with the claws of the dog and slam him against one of the bokken holders, sending the wood swords all over the floor; just to end slamming the dog against one of the beams of the dojo, after both of them slipped a couple of meters.

When he raised the eyes, he could witness one of the most beautiful images he could eve saw.

Saeko Busujima was there, bokken in one hand, and with an amused smirk on her pretty lips, watching the boy and the dog in the floor, with the kind of eyes that one could see in an amused mother over a pair of adorable but rowdy pair of kids.

"Uh" was the clever words of Takashi, and the dog under him barked in laughter, just to be punched by an embarrassed Takashi.

"Good evening Komuro-san" smiled the violet-haired beauty and Takashi just felt his stomach do all kind of flip-flops at the smile.

Not to mention how it was becoming incredibly harder to keep a straight yet flustered face when your crotch is sending a lot of painful throbs.

Having a raging erection in front of your crush was not the best of the first impressions.

It has to be the hard way.

It always has to be the hard way.

Takashi was laying on the end of the corridor, his body bitten and bloodied for the attack of what could only be described as fucking zombies; things that had already overrun the entire school; and his whatever the hell was; powers of healing were doing jack about the marks, in fact, his entire body felt like somebody had substituted his blood with acid.

This was his end.

And the world seems so bright not a few days of days before.

He had finally; even if it has been mostly by accident; meet Busujima-senpai, Takashi was proud that he managed to keep the composure around the beautiful girl, and do not screw up with her; he...had a crush on the girl the size of the fucking Tokyo stadium.

Takashi managed to have a normal conversation with the girl, and her voice was as good as he suspected, no matter what she was talking about, he just listen to her; it was one of his few redeeming qualities, he was a very good listener.

Then, he left her back to her practice and run all the way back to home, drink a liter of his mint flavored potions of Doctor Morgan and with all the dignity he could muster, scream his lungs out for the success on do not freak the violet-haired goddess with his problems.

In fact, she did seems to understand him a lot, how his increased senses were a total drag, but there was something on the girl that nagged on the back of the mind of Takashi, not only her looks call to him like a siren, there as a shadow on her eyes, a shadow that his...most bestial instincts found quite appealing.

Nothing of that matters anymore.

He was going to die, turned into one of those putrid and horrid things that were slowly moving around him, now that they had already bitten a pound of his flesh, they had lost interest in him; looking for new preys.

It has been an idiotic call, a sacrifice to save two women that he cared a lot for, and a boy that he once called his bro in all but blood; yeah, the same one that was dating his ex-girlfriend, one of the two aforementioned women; he has taken the bullet; well in this case, bite; for them, preventing both of women to be bitten and turn into this ugly, rotten bitches.

Takashi had a crooked smile on his face, he was dying, and like everything in his life, it hurt like hell; he had managed to put them safely into the rooftop, where there will be less of those monsters and they could barricade themselves until the rescue came.

How will his life as a zombie be?, Takashi was hoping that it would end soon, with luck, a soldier or a cop, or even a crazy survivor freak will put a bullet on his head and that would be all.

Pain, a scorching pain run through his veins, burning, making his muscles tense like the strings of a guitar.

A white blanket covered his mind and the last thing he could ever sense was his own body going crazy, almost ripping himself in the process.

And a howl.

There was a rage-filled howl that echoed in the halls of the school, calling all the things that crawl the building in its echo.

There was something far worse than them, roaming the building.

But Takashi's mind was a little busy, playing a record of the previous days and the events that had lead to the situation on where he was right now.

The day had started like any other, but this time, he came a little late to classes, for the first time in ages he had overslept a little.

Not really a surprise, the previous day he has to accompany Busujima-senpai during the kendo practice, as he and Plushy enjoyed some snacks under the shadows of the entrance of the dojo, not really giving a shit about any of the students that look at them.

Marikawa-sensei came for his massive dog, and he left Saeko and Takashi alone, so they could travel to her home; it was not a date itself, but for the most part, both Saeko and he had found some common grounds, each found the other company...agreeable.

After he left her on her home; something that looks more a dojo than a home; he ran all the way back to his home, enjoying the stroll under the cold night, and after having dinner with his family; his dad was going out of the country for some business, he had never understood what his father work exactly was; he went to sleep early.

After drinking an entire bottle of the medicine of Doctor Morgan, he went back to bed and had one of the most relaxing nights of his life, well, better said, this time it was only wet dreams, wet dreams capable of making a porno starts to blush and made their jaws drop in amazement for what Takashi was doing with a lot of women.

All of them had the faces and bodies of ladies that he had come to appreciate, is it just a physical attraction or something deeper, like his senses crushes.

For whatever the reason, he awake late, and after having a shower, he dressed up and ran all the way to the school.

Then was where the shit hit the fan.

He reached the side of the entrance of the school and jumped over the fence, usually, at that hour, the P.E teacher Teshima was like a hawk, looking out for any students that arrive late, ready to chew their asses off with one of his patented earfuls.

Takashi had nothing against the man, in fact, he was a very good teacher for what he knew, he was really interested in the best for his students.

However this time, his ears were ringing a lot, like there was some kind of interference on the air, the city was a lot busier than usual, so much he could have told by the honks and beeps of the vehicles, and the train seems to be out of hour, and going at a speed that did not seems normal.

But what truly caught his attention was the disturbance that seems to be happening at the entrance of the school.

It was not his business but when the voice of Hayashi-sensei reach his ears, he moved without even thinking about it, reaching the ample space near the entrance, and witnessing how one crazy student had bitten Teshima arm to a point that he had torn off a lot of his biceps.

That was a nasty wound, screaming, he bathed in blood the other two teachers at the entrance; namely Hayashi-sensei and another old man Takashi did not know how he was.

Hayashi-sensei look frozen at how the blood had covered her but the screams of Teshima awoke her from her shock, and she knelt at his side, trying to help him.

There was something on the scene, and Takashi was not just speaking about the blood and the gore, but there was something on the student responsible of this...his smell was one of the most nauseating things Takashi has ever smelt on his life.

And now Teshima smell like him.

He reacted by instinct and cover the distance between the teachers and him in the blink of an eye, just in time to grab Teshima by the hair before he could bite the throat of the red-headed woman, and in a show of inhuman strength, toss the growling man flying at the gates, slamming him hard against the bars of the entrance.

"What?, what?!" repeated Hayashi-sensei who could barely believe how Teshima almost bite her throat out...

"Are you okay sensei?" the voice of Takashi wake her and made her focus on the image of the boy that had just save his life.

"Komuro-kun?" asked the woman looking at the prone form of Teshima, despite the awkward and painful position on where he was, he was standing, eyes empty and drooling with menace to them.

"Yes, sensei, excuse me for a moment," said Takashi with politeness, before he stopped Teshima in mid-air.

The berserker, foul-smelling P.E teacher had jump at him, mouth open and ready to bite him, just for Takashi to put a hand over his forehead and slam him against the floor, leaving cracks on the white tiles of the open entrance.

Even in this...berserker, whatever state, the body of Teshima just broke on the inside for the massive force behind the hand of the boy, his organs were destroyed, his bones shattered, with such fortune that a lot of the broken skull shattered pieces, tearing the brain of the turned professor apart.

He stopped moving at the instant.

"What?!, Komuro-kun!" screamed Hayashi-sensei looking at Takashi like he had just grown a second head.

"Sorry sensei, but he was done for" Takashi pointed to the growing audience of...well, it could only be described as gray-skinned zombies, the skin did seem to change when they turned from living too, well, whatever they were.

Takashi thought how ridiculous this was starting to get, how the world has gone bonkers in a matter of seconds.

"Oh, my Kami" she gasped covering her mouth with her hands and looking at the crowd at the gates.

Even if they were made of solid metal, at some point they will break due to the insistence of the zombies behind the bars.

"We have to get out of here, sensei" said Takashi who was just reacting to everything around like it was normal, it was the only thing he could do before raising his arms and run around screaming like a scared bitch, he had to protect the pack, and Hayashi-sensei was pack, or so he believed.

Any case, he took one of the hands of the red-haired woman and made a run for the main building, not really giving two shits about the other professor who had already run in the opposite direction as if all the demons of hell were hot on his heels.

It was the most prudent action, Takashi had to admit it, but he had a pack to find and carry to safety, there were enemies at the doors, and even with all his strength, he was sure, that they will overrun him at some point and torn him apart like they had done to the arm of Teshima.

"Komuro-kun, whats going on?" asked the teacher, more than surprised by the sudden change of attitude of her favorite student and his unbelievable strength.

"I have no idea sensei" admitted Takashi, who was pretty much convinced that this was some kind of nightmare, it was so similar to a zombie movie that it was not even funny " but I will not let them hurt you, I promise".

"Thank you" whispered the woman, a little taken back for the strong and determined posture of her student.

Together, they enter the building, in Takashi's mind, he only wanted to pick up his friends and get them out of this death trap, but as he run all over the stairs, he had to slow his pace a lot, as the sensei could not even come close to his inhumane speed and stamina.

They were at the second floor stairs when the speaker systems of the school activated and rely on all the fucking school, a message about how they were a disturbance, and then, just when Takashi was already growling for the idiocy of putting all the school in a panic, all the school could listen how the speaker was being eaten alive.

Takashi facepalmed, but then, he noticed how Hayashi-sensei was starting to get increasingly nervous, she was a teacher, not some kind of soldier; Takashi felt a pang of whatever it could be called, at the image of the woman evidently suffering.

Guided by a sudden impulse, he hugged the woman, taking her entire frame within his arms, and whispering comforting words in her ear.

"Calm down, sensei, I am here, I am with you, breath slow and steady" Takashi just used the same tricks that he had to use every time he had to deal with one of his seizures.

Right now, he needed the woman calm, if he entered in a panic state, it would be dangerous for her, and that was the last thing Takashi wanted for the woman, he was pack, the pack must be protected, the pack is good.

Takashi was not in the right mindset, on that moment, he was trusting his instinct; acting as his animal part was teaching him, and among those actions, it was the pack idea; he had to find and protect his pack.

There were little people in the pack, Saeko, Saya, Kohta, Morita, Marikawa-sensei, Hayashi-sense, Rei, and Igou; those were the people that matter to him right now, the rest are nothing but nuisances in the best of the cases.

Once the woman calmed a little, Takashi let her go and look at her eyes, confirming that she was indeed ready for what was about to come.

On a side note, Takashi was a freaked out as his sensei, it was his not so human part, the one that was keeping him steady and focus, for the first time in decades, his senses were attuned, advertising him, making him sharp and ready, his body was ready for whatever the world would throw at him.

And when the shit hit the fan he would make his pack proud, and when his pack saw him for what he really was, they will possibly freak out even more, but it was a bridge that he would cross when they reach it.

But at that moment, Takashi was just carrying his sensei, walking at a brisk pace over the chaotic halls of the school as they made a line to the place where his pack could possibly be.

Considering where he was, he suspected that Plushy was guarding Marikawa-sensei, the humongous dog would be capable of dealing with this shit, unless it was contagious, after all, the way of attacking for the dog was to bite those things, but he really didn't want to deal in that statement right now.

As they ascend into the halls, they could already see the massacre that those gray skinned things were doing over the students and teachers, Takashi take one of the hands of the sensei, not letting her go off him and in a sense, to reassure both that they were still alive in the middle of the horror.

Each one of them that came close to Takashi was deal in the same way, in an efficient and brutal manner; there was nothing that he wanted more that took out his claws and tore them apart, they were a menace, they were in his turf, and they were threatening his pack.

With his strength, it was a simple matter to punch each one of the fuckers that come close to him, sending them flying into the walls completely wrecked or into another group of them, scattering them like bowling pins, all around the place.

He cut a path into the stairs that lead the rooftop, and when they were reaching the place, Rei and Igou turned the corner and look at them with relief.

Takashi did not say anything, just growl and keep an eye on the school corridor, that was progressively being filled with more and more of those things, as the school was full of preys, and every time they bite somebody, even if they don't kill their victim; the victim became one of them.

He could sense the stares of Igou and Rei on his back, as he grabbed one of the closest dead things and toss him several meters through the school hall like it was a rag doll, showing to the other three alive persons that he was strong as a mule and not have any qualms about using that strength.

Hayashi sensei and Igou agreed on going to the astronomy club on the roof, they had food and sleep bags for the nights of stargazing, and it would be easy to block the entrance until the rescue comes.

Takashi was not in the mood to debate with his old bro and his ex-girlfriend, he had to keep Hayashi sensei alive and look for the rest of the pack before all this went way out of his league, and had to tear apart all the city.

He was never that cocky and arrogant, Takashi knew that there was something wrong with him, that he was not in his usual moods, not to mention his senses were perfectly attuned, that they were not bothering him.

Odd, and doubly odd.

Unfortunately for him, that was the end of his road, as soon as they moved to reach to stairs to the rooftop; Takashi detected how the door at the right of the girls was about to be open by force, and the smell of a dozen or more of those things assaulted his nose like a physical hit.

Once again, Takashi acted by impulse, guided more by his own instincts than any logical reason; he pushed Hayashi-sensei out of the way, and before the woman could protest, the door of the class burst with a lot of those crazy things, all of them falling over Takashi like a piranha swarm.

Takashi felt his flesh being bitten and torn by the savage bites of those things, how his flesh and muscles screamed in pain, as he roared in response and start to tear them apart in response, ripping their heads off and smashing their bodies against the wall and the floor, broking them completely; even with their supernatural resilience, they were destroyed in seconds by a raging Takashi.

Standing over the carnage, he could see the horror and the alarm on the faces of the others, still, a part of him rejoice in the fact that sensei did look at him with worry more than the fear he could see on the faces of Igou and Rei.

He did not hate them, of course, it has been a tough pill to swallow when they betrayed him like that, but it didn't matter anymore.

It's almost funny how the perceptions and ideas change when Takashi noticed how he was going to die, he was going to be one of those things, will be continued to be as strong as he was now? will he be even more feral now?.

Well, those were the thoughts that crossed his mind at that moment, along a lot of good wishes for the rest of his pack, and the immense desire that they would survive this horrific nightmare.

"Well, this is it for me," said Takashi, his wounds burn, literally, there were tiny trails of smoke going out of the bites, "go, now," ordered to the other three.

"Komuro-kun" whispered the redhead with tears in her eyes " I'm sorry, for saving us you.."

"Yeah, but I couldn't allow those things to put their dirty teeth on any of you" smiled Takashi with a bloodied teeth, before he felt his stomach churn, he tumbled to the wall and puke a liter of blood in an instant.

"Oh, that can not be good" groaned Takashi before he noticed how another of those things tried to take another bite from him, and with a brutal pull, he tore his head and slam it against the floor, completely squashing it.

"Uh, disgusting" commented, falling forwards, just to be caught by Hayashi-sensei, there was a tear in the eyes of the woman, now that she had seen how the boy had sacrificed himself, twice, for her sake.

"Ey, sensei" weakly and dizzily said Takashi " run the hell outta here, will ya?, I'm not the best company right now..:"tried to chuckle Takashi, only to his expression to turn sour at a sudden and brutal clinch of his muscles.

The red-haired woman was openly crying for the boy, he had saved her life twice and she was not entirely sure she deserved to be saved, not at the cost of such an outstanding boy, he was an exceptional boy, no matter what the stupid rumors said about him.

"I'm sorry, Komuro-kun, I am really sorry" keep saying the woman, hugging the boy in his last moments.

"Go, please.." said Takashi with a faint voice.

She hugged him once and then she disappeared from his fading senses, his body was at war with himself, worse than anything he had experimented before.

This was not the usual seizure, where he could more or less grip his head and just wait for it to go away, this was molten lava on his veins, tumbling like one of the things that surrounded him, Takashi stumbled as far as he could from the rest of the group.

Each time one of those things try to get closer, he smashed them against the walls, cleave their heads like they were made of plasticine, or stomp over them, bursting their chests or heads in a shower of innards and brain fluids.

At this point, he was way beyond reasoning and just acting by the last stertorous of a dying beast.

Until the Howl came.

Fade to black.

Next thing Takashi knows is that he was having the worst migraine ever, and Plushy was in front of him, patiently waiting for him to end tearing apart the last of the zombies in the carnage that he had done all over that floor of the school.

Wait, what?.

Takashi blinked, look at Plushy, who look at him back; Takashi noticed how the dog was entirely covered in all kind of body fluids but otherwise he seemed perfectly fine; his senses were not pulling his leg, he was alive...and covered from head to toe in the blood and flesh of the same zombies that he had just butchered like cattle with his bare claws, of course, it must be the claws.

And the fangs...oh, he could sense the fangs in his mouth, his teeth were more akin to an animal, were sharp and pointy, oh Kami, what the hell is going on here?.

"Easy lad, the first change is always the more traumatic" echoed a powerful but warm voice in his ears, he stiffened and look around for the source of the voice, only to found Plushy looking at him, and a mountain of completely butchered corpses; corpses that were already dead by the way.

Takashi looked at the dog, and the dog looked at him with the same canine expression as always.

"It has been you, right?" asked Takashi, whose mind has already surrendered and thrown any logic and common sense off the window " you are the one that has spoken to me now".

"Aren't you the clever one?" snorted the dog in laughter " Aye, lad, I am the one talking to you".

"Ok, talking dogs, why not? the day is already crazy enough" shrugged Takashi walking out of the trench of bodies that he had made by himself with his bare claws.

"Believe me, lad, the craziness has just begun" barked in amusement the dog.

It was a bullet to the head.

Really, Takashi was freaked out of his mind, he was some kind of werewolf? not any kind, but his own ancestor was in front of him, explaining a few very needed things; and among those things, how he was a complete monster by any standard known to man.

But it was a good thing, especially when you are neck deep in a zombie apocalypse.

And speaking about that, they were walking around the place, tearing to pieces in an almost lazy manner any of those things that come close to them; once they tried to surround them with numbers and they simply butchered them by the dozen with their claws and fangs.

Oh, yeah, Plushy; whose true name was Magnus by the way; had a human form too, an eight feet tall human form that made any heavyweight wrestler out there look like a ballerina in comparison.

Together they made a path among the zombies, as they reach the stairs that lead to the third floor of the building, as Magnus told him how he had left Shizuka; Marikawa-sensei first name; in the competent hands of Saeko, as he sensed how Takashi was about to experiment his first change.

In a sense, the bite of those things means death, once they bite a victim, the victim turns into one of them, unless you had a healing factor like the one Takashi had and bested the infection in a moment.

The attack that he suffered when he was nothing but a toddler?, the one had left him suffering from a permanent hypersensitivity?, that was nothing but an attempt from another like him to stole his blood and powers, devouring his flesh and stealing Takashi's powers.

But whoever attacked him, failed spectacularly, awakening his inner beast years before it should awake and send his body into disarray.

Add to the mix, how the hormones of a teenager could do numbers on anyone and you had the recipe of a complete disaster.

Takashi then punched Magnus hard in the face, broking the nose of the man, who simply stood there as his face and nose healed in a second, leaving the kid to blow off some steam.

Takashi was pissed off if Magnus knew all those things why the hell did not help him sooner?.

The answer?.

Easy, Magnus met Takashi for the first time just some months ago, when he was "adopted" by the school nurse, who didn't know the truth about him by the way, only her roommate Rika knows about what Magnus truly was, he revealed to the woman one night and explain her everything.

Takashi was not by any means, a love expert, but with his senses and his newfound perceptions, he could see that Magnus was happy with both women, and didn't want to lose that happiness.

Magnus continued to explain a lot of things about what he knew and how all seems to be back in place, and first of all, he needed to get back with his pack, they need him in such a dire situation.

There will be time on where he could talk about how to control his powers, his incredible strength and stamina, his lightning reflexes and his exceptional senses; as any youngster, he had barely scratched the surface of what he can really do, it was only a matter of time, practice and determination.

It does seem that even in a zombie apocalypse he would not be free of the bane of all High school student.

Homework.

That reflection made Magnus laugh before he grabbed two of those things with his powerful claws and smashed them together, reducing their heads to a pulp.

It was almost disturbing how easily were they killing everything around, Takashi did not recognize any of the things surrounding them, and in a sense, it was a good thing, he was not sure about how would have he reacted if he recognized those things, just the idea of a turned Saeko or Hayashi-sensei made his stomach churn in revulsion.

Magnus explained to him how there was a ton of things that he should learn before he could be considered in the domain of all his powers, even if those powers were practically all physical.

Strength, resistance, speed, claws, fangs, shapeshifting into animals; like Magnus has been doing for decades if the man was to be believed; all of those things must be learned through training and effort, it was not an automatic upgrade, this was not some kind of video game.

Takashi needed to train as much as anybody else, especially now that his body was no longer trying to stabilize himself after the crude attempt of stealing his powers by another shapeshifter.

Magnus was pretty much convinced that in this age, they were called Therianthropes by the few that know about their existence, mostly wolfkin; a word to express the blood relatives and packs of those like them; and the few than hunted them like they were some kind of plague.

First come first, join his pack, and get the hell out of this death trap, before any of those undead things get a taste of any of the pack, people that are not as immune to the infection as Takashi was; in fact Magnus has already told him, that the only reason why he had survived the infection was because his outstanding powers, even among their kin.

Takashi did seem to belong to a very powerful bloodline of Therianthropes, one that had even greater capabilities than the common Therianthrope.

That's one of the reasons somebody tried to steal his powers, by eating his flesh and drinking his blood, whoever attacked him know pretty well what was after, but Takashi retaliated; hard; and after killing the attacker, just stumbled back to his parents, the people that loved him and took care of him.

His body was at war with itself, as his powers tried to stabilize and heal what had been stolen from him.

The infection this undead things seems to carry, just give his body the extra kick it needed to trigger the first transformation, something that should have happened way sooner than it has actually happened.

In the end, the bite of the undead has given Takashi exactly what he needed, the deathly bite had become the panacea for him.

Takashi take a sniff from the air, and Magnus smiled at his side, quickly turning back to his dog appearance; even in that form, Takashi was now able to discern the aura of power that the man seems to carry around; the teenager wondered if at some point he would be capable of doing this like that.

On the other hand, Magnus was quite pleased with the boy; he only needed to polish his powers now, and he would become one of the most powerful Therianthropes that exist; if there are other survivors, after all, this mess, not all Therianthropes are as blessed as Takashi.

Blood was weak this day and age, the powerful beasts that ruled the past were hunted to extinction.

The Therianthropes had to learn to mix with humanity, a maneuver that became salvation and damnation at the same time.

Takashi had just caught the scent of some of his pack; Saeko, Hayashi-sensei, Marikawa-sensei, Kohta, Rei, Igou...all of them were close, he had to follow the trail, there was something on their scents that bother Takashi a lot.

Takashi couldn't know but it was actually fear, all the teenagers and the two adults were scared out of their minds, and for the muffled sounds that Takashi could catch from the T.V; isolating them for the constant carnage of the place and the grunts of the undead around; the situation was as worst as he was imagining it.

Everything was going south and fast, this undead plague, something akin to a zombie movie, was as crude, dangerous and savage as the movies put them to be, but a ten thousand times worst.

Despite his newfound amazing powers, he was not stupid enough to actually believe that he was invulnerable or invincible; he has been already too close to death thrice to do not recognize that not even a powerful Therianthrope is immune to physical damage.

He would have to ask Magnus, but the man was back into his Plushy appearance, back to the appearance of just being a big bad dog, capable of tearing apart a human like it was beef jerky.

Together they got closer to the sounds of the T.V and the conversation of Takashi's pack, he could follow their scents and voices with clarity, even in the insides of the infested school; those things were making the place smell like a dump, and it was not only because of the carnage.

After all when they rip their victims open, the innards smell like shit, even worst after a couple of hours, more or less the time Takashi has been out of his mind, when the first transformation; as Magnus called it; took control of his mind and start a claw festival in the middle of the zombie horde.

Well, Takashi did not remember much about it, but the clear floor of the school spoke for itself about how effective his rage has been in exterminating anything on his path.

Unfortunately, Magnus had already told him, that triggering the transformation at will was something that it would take him a lot more time and practice; changing his entire physical body into a mix of a powerful wolf and a human was a traumatic experience; especially when the body started to grow at an accelerated rate, it is a painful transformation and on several occasions, the pain made the transformed Threrianthrope went into rage mode, butchering apart everything in his path.

Everything except his pack; there was a safety mechanism into the minds of the Therianthropes, not sure how it ended there but it was quite handy; no Therianthrope would ever cause any harm to those that he considered pack or wolfkin, it was an absolute rule, only when the Therianthrope is sick beyond measure, could it cause harm to his pack and family.

Back in the day, there were records about how some Therianthropes that got infected with rabies got so sick that resort to even harm those around him, in the end, they were put down by their own pack and families before they could cause even more harm.

And no, that silver bullshit was not among Takashi bloodline defects; there was no doubt that some Therianthropes were vulnerable against silver, as other were even more exotic and had an entirely different set of needs and special diets, but that was something that Takashi didn't have to care about.

Takashi jumped into the stairs with impossible agility and coordination, kicking and clawing a few zombies that were on his way like they were minor nuisances.

In two acrobatic movements, he climbed the stairs and rip an undead in half, tossing the bodies pieces into the stairs, it echoed with a loud and wet thud, as the concrete of the stairs meet the bloody pieces of the ripped apart corpse; Takashi snarled quietly, he was doing a lot of noise and Magnus had already advised him that these things hunt by sound, not by smell or eyesight.

Speaking of said Therianthrope, the massive dog had easily followed him and after dispatching a couple of zombies that were dragging their feet in front of the teacher's room of the floor, he just sat on the corner of the door, looking at Takashi with the canine equivalent of a raised eyebrow.

The teenager snort in amusement, he was more than capable to hear and smell the presence of his pack behind the doors; they all were inside the room, and discussing what to do next, they finally reach an agreement about using one of the school buses to get the hell out of the place.

Takashi felt a tremendous pang of guilt and regret when he could smell the tears in the eyes of the girls, the bitter and pained?, the sweat of Igou, the muffled sobs of Saya and Marikawa-sensei, the raging but controlled muscles of Saeko, the sad sweat of Kohta...

Takashi had never considered himself such a popular man, in fact, he did never consider himself popular at all; he was a monster and now that he was supposedly dead, the emotions that he left behind were not at all what he expected.

Ok, Saya, Morita, Marikawa-sensei, and Kohta would probably miss him a lot, they were his friends, the oldest and dearest ones...he would have to ask about Morita, he could smell him around but his smell was so diluted that it was impossible to pinpoint it on the building.

He really, seriously hopped for his friend to be alive; he was as part of the pack as the people on the other side of the door.

Back on the topic of the mourning about him; Takashi was flabbergasted.

They were mourning him.

That was something that he would have never expected, well, he was sure that his parents would mourn him, he was one of the few fortunate ones that had a very supportive parents that had endured the worst of his condition with the patience of the saints.

But he did not expect to be mourned at this level; for example he has only know Saeko for a couple of days, nothing out of the blue, they had clicked almost immediately but there was always a barrier between them, like both were hiding something for the other.

Takashi was hiding his Theriontrope condition, Saeko on the other hand, he had no idea what could drag down a wonderful woman like her like that, but surely it must be something grave; he wanted to help her, really, she had a crush on the violet haired girl, the size of the Tokyo tower.

In all, the reactions of the people at the other side of the door did surprise him.

Takashi was not realizing that despite all his flaws, and the immense self pity he had for himself, bordering being an emo idiot; he was a very nice lad, he had his moments of idiocy, Saya loved to scold him for those same moments on where he acts and broods like an ass; but apart from that and his seizures, Takashi was kind, funny to be around and loyal to those few that he consider pack.

Unconsciously, he had the charisma of an alpha, a leader of a pack, not to mention how his bad boy fame and attitude with the few idiots that had the balls to mess with him, combined with his strong and fit body, made him very popular among the ladies of the school.

It was a dirty cliche, but teenager girls tend lo love bad boys, and there was not biggest baddest boy than Takashi when he was pissed off.

Correctly being said, there was no bigger baddest wolf than Takashi when he was in the mood, with the notable exception of Magnus/Plushy; Takashi suspected that the man under the dog disguise was strong as hell, and a lot more experienced in the Threrianthrope powers than him.

But Takashi was grateful to actually have someone who could taught him or at last explain him what the hell was going on with him.

About the zombie matter, both were clueless...it was something out of a Romero movie.

Even Magnus was at a lost of worlds at this zombi apocalypse thing; there was a first time for everything after all.

Back to the topic of his pack, to say that Takashi was touched at the reaction of his pack about his death, would be an understatement; he was overwhelm and grateful, he swore to himself that he was going to protect them at any cost, no matter whatever this shitty world wanted to throw at them.

But before, he would have to made his survival know to them, he was a bit of curious about how would they react, he walked to the door and politely knock over the surface of the door, he had to be extra careful with his new strength, he didn't want to send the door to the other side of the room.

As he knocked slightly over the surface, he immediately notice how the adrenaline and the silent erupted inside the room, they were most probably expecting a bunch of those things ramming into the room trying to eat them alive; but a polite and soft knock was not among their expectations.

Magnus, who was back into his Plushy identity, softly barked in a mocking canine laughter at Takashi action, no doubt the survivors of the massacre of the school were totally dumbfounded at the other side of the door; Magnus could smell it as well as Takashi; and for the dog, the scent of Shizuka was as powerful as Saekos was for Takashi.

The was a rustle on the other side of the room, more probably Saeko and Igou moving the non-combatants back, in case this was a trap, and with a voice that made Takashi smile slightly, Saeko answered the call on the door.

"Yes?".

"Hi there, Saeko-san" answered Takashi and he could almost see how the entire bunch at the other side of the door stiffened as iron rods, in a mix of surprise, relief and shock for his sudden appearance, he was supposedly dead after all.

"Would you be so kind to open the door?" asked Takashi in his usual controlled manner but a martial artist like Saeko, the daughter of one of the best swordsmen of the world, she could notice that this Takashi was a lot different from what she know.

"Is that you Takashi-kun?" asked the woman in a whisper against the door.

"Yes I am, Saeko-san" replied Takashi in a similar whispering tone " I am different now, but I have to enter to show it to all of you".

"What do you mean?" asked suspicious the woman.

"I am taller, stronger, a bit more hairier, way better than I was" confessed Takashi to the woman; the only one who he would have never hide anything " but I am still myself, not one of this wretched things that feed on everything they put their teeth on".

"How is this possible?" ask Saeko to the rest of the people in the room, opening the door, so Takashi could enter inside, along Plushy, who lost not a second before walking to Shizuka who embraced the dog into her humongous bosom happy to have his pet back.

"Hello everyone" saluted Takashi to the rest of his pack.

Now that he was inside, the said pack; at last in his head that was they were; took a second to realize, that he was indeed alive and for the first time, see how really was Takashi under all his baggy clothes.

Takashi had always being fit, but now that the Theriatrope blood has awaken, Takashi was physically perfect; and it was not an exaggeration, the blood and the powers of the Threrianthropes concede mostly physical gifts, among them, inhuman strength and resilience, impossible stamina and speed; for those gifts, it was needed a strong body.

The ladies of the room, take notice of the body of Takashi and almost all of them had a nuclear blush.

However, the boys of the room, immediately noticed a couple of odd things, as Takashi closed the door and walked into the little restroom, to get clean as better as he could, from all the blood and grime he had all over his body.

The only piece of clothes he had, was his school uniform ragged pants; the only thing left of his school uniform; a ragged piece of cloth that did nothing to hid his impressive physical form, a body that decathlon athletes would sell their mothers souls, just for half of it.

The sudden apparition of Takashi and Plushy had put everyone in a loop, that was something that few were expecting and soon they overwhelm him with questions, and in the females case a very welcome hugs, that secretly Takashi enjoyed a lot.

But suddenly he raised an eyebrow.

 _Wait..did just Saeko coop a feel of my crotch right now?, taking advantage of the hug...oh, naughty girl, I'm falling in love with you more an more each minute_ thought the teenager Threrianthrope and the discrete but incredible bold movement of Saeko, a girl that he was just really know, for a couple of days before all this mess occurs.

With haste, Takashi clean as best as he could, and picked up from the little bathroom, a forgotten student jacket, he was shoeless, shirtless and with ragged pants, in all, all the girls found him incredible attractive, in a Tarzan sort of way, however, before he could put his jacket on, everybody could see the horrendous scars of his back, the scars left from the attack of the Threrianthrope that tried to stole his powers.

"I know all of you had a lot of questions" cut Takashi short the incoming avalanche, he wanted to celebrate his resurrection as much as everybody else, but there was bigger concerns at the other side of the door.

"And I promise you all, that as soon as we had a break, I would explain everything as best as I could" none of the present dared to say nothing.

There was something on Takashi that gives them confidence, he was a presence that was overwhelming; there was something dangerous about him, but it was something dangerous for those things out there and not for them.

"So, until we could talk in a safer place, what was your plan?" ask Takashi, that did notice how Igou was limping on his left leg.

Saya was the one that explained him, how they had survived in the school and how the big bad dog of Marikawa-sensei was the one that had found all of them and bring them to the room, until the dog suddenly disappeared and reappear with him.

The next movement was to took one of the school buses and get the hell out of there, all of them wanted to know if their loved ones were alive and well, and after that, look for a safe place to hide until the rescue come in; they had saw a lot of helicopters from the JDF passing all over the city, it was a matter of time before a rescue was organized.

Takashi had his doubts about all the rescue thing, but he was out of commission when they saw the helicopters, and that sliver of hope was something important, what he did not miss was how Kohta and Saeko did not seems to share the idea of the rescue, however they will be with their friends.

Takashi was proud of his pack, Kohta and Saeko were worthy pack mates, people that he could trust, not it was only a matter of waiting for the right chance and see if they could understand the kind of monster Takashi was.

The teenager was not deluding himself, he was very conscious about how he was a monster by any human measure and if what Magnus told him about the true form of the Threrianthropes was true, he was going to transform into an even worst nightmare; fortunately, they were already living in one; another monster to the freak circus would not be noticed or so he hoped.

He would hate to terrify his own pack, not to mention how hurt will he felt if Saeko or Hayashi-sensei look at him with fearful eyes; yes, he really didn't want that.

Focusing on the present, Takashi stretched his arms over his head, the sudden influx of power of the first transformation was fading, but he fell better than ever; his senses were not fighting him, they were dumber than they usually were and at the same time sharper than ever.

It was a very curious sensation.

Once everybody of their pack pick up their impromptu weaponry; varying from the bokken of Saeko to the nail gun of Kohta, all of them look worn out and improvised; and Marikawa-sensei stop nuzzling into Plushys fur and grab her medical bag, all the group prepare to exit.

"Takashi..." said Igou, still looking pained from whatever had hurt his leg; Takashi could smell that there was not infection on it, so it was safe, although he was curious how had Igou suffer that injury " aren't you going to pick up some kind of weapon".

Takashi smiled to the one that he called bro once; a full of teeth smile that was more akin to a wolf than a human being; and with a loud snikt, five very long, very sharp nails of three inches long erupted from the tip of his fingers, substituting the human nails on his hand.

"I am a weapon now, Igou" chuckled mirthlessly Takashi " but you are right, I better grab some weapon".

The short bark of the dog called his attention as Plushy/Magnus patted the crystal of the Anti-Fire glass, behind the hard material, there was a long hose and a fire ax; smiling in gratitude to the dog, Takashi walked to the glass and with a pull, rend the metallic frame, taking the ax from the inside and swing it a couple of times.

"Oh, yes, this will do nicely" chuckled the boy.

He would lie, if he said that he did not enjoyed the shocked expressions of all of them, but the hint of worry and the pang of fear in a few of them did sent twin pang of fear into his own heart; he really didn't want to scare them like that.

Walking into the halls of the school was not difficult; they took a clear formation.

Takashi on point with Kohta at his left and Rei on his right; he could sense the glares of the girl, and for the first time in forever, Takashi didn't really just care in the same way he did on the past; of course, she was pack and he would protect her from whatever this hell on earth throws at them, but it was not the same.

Behind them, Saya, Marikawa-sensei, Hayashi-sensei, Plushy and Igou formed the core of the group; except Igou they were mostly non-combatants, and the boy had a twisted ankle that did little favor to a martial artist like him; relegating him to a support mission, if some of those things managed to get past them.

It wasn't really necessary as Takashi knew that Plushy would torn to pieces anything that dared to came closer to the blonde bombshell of the school nurse or any of Takashis pack. Magnus/Plushy may not be part of his pack per se, but Takashi had the utmost respect for the old Threrianthrope.

Saeko was on the rear, covering their backs with her bokken ready; the presence of the girl was a balsam for the nerves of Takashi, he knew how good she was with that ; in appearance; simply stick; she would bust the head of any of those things that tried to gain their backs.

Walking at a good pace; even if Takashi feel like they were dragging their feet all the way; his movements now were far more focused that they were in the past, and his body demanded action, he was almost and adrenaline junkie now.

He would have loved to ask Magnus if this was normal but the man was under his Plushy facade and talking with the dog would just blow up his cover.

Takashi didn't really want to know what could Magnus do to him, if the pull than one on the old Threrianthrope; even after all the motivational speech the old man has done about how Takashi was very powerful Threrianthrope, Takashi knew; at an instinct level; that Magnus could kick his ass all ways to Sunday if he wanted.

Everyone of his pack was terrified, but Takashi was proud that they were hiding their fear incredible well; they were focusing in survive and protect the pack as good as they could, and that was something that Takashi; or at last his new found pack sense; appreciated.

They advanced into the halls of the school, and for the disbelief of almost all of the group, Takashi alone was more than capable of cleaving a path among the undeads that crawl the school, he was ruthless, savage and precise, all in one; something that Saeko really appreciated on the rear of the formation, observing how Takashi dealt with the menace with a slight smirk on her lips.

Kohta was smiling too, his friend was back and with a vengeance; he was some kind of supersoldier now and Kohta was just glad that he was on his side; covering his back with his nail gun, Kohta was happy in a sense that scared him a little, for the first time of his life, he had found something that he was good at.

Killing that things with an impromptu firearm.

The rest of the group was just speechless, they didn't know what to think about this new Takashi; it was nothing like the one they knew, and the one that some of them just saw die in front of their eyes; ok, they were running and there was not time for asking questions but still, they were a little wary of the superman of long claws that was in front of them know.

Takashi bury his ax in the face and head of one of those things, at the same time he kicked one out of the window; sending the body flying several meters into the air out of the hall; half a dozen of those things had congregated around him and he just proceed to butcher them in blur.

Igou, Rei and Saeko were martial artist and despite the lack of technique that Takashi was showing; the few times he actually moved in a slow enough manner for them to actually see what he was doing; they had to admit that the ruthless and the brute force Takashi put behind each one of his strikes was quite efficient in the task of eliminating all the zombies that tried to attack him.

Saeko pondered about her relationship with the bestial boy; she liked Takashi, even if they had only chatted a couple of times.

After the display he made in front of the kendo club; dealing with Tsunoda and his lackeys in a manner that made her...a bit flustered; she knew that Takashi had a dark side, but this was a little off of her suspicions.

Despite that, it was a dark side that echoed with her own; her worst secret, one that shatter her facade in front of the entire school and the rest of the world; she was dealing with all this zombie apocalypse thing better than the rest for the single reason that she really enjoyed beating the crap out of those death things.

She had busted the head of several of her kouhais from the kendo club and has done it with a smile; she enjoyed the thrill of the battle, the adrenaline, the final strike that kills her prey, even if her prey was nothing but a corpse that moved in an awkward manner.

And then Takashi appeared; powerful, ruthless, methodical in his elimination of the menaces against the group around him; someone that shared her taste for violence, although he seems to be a bit more in the open than hers about his darker side; she was a crazy girl, she knew that fact from a long time ago, but she could hide it very well.

Takashi had claws; like real, sharp and deadly claws.

Not that he needed them, each time he swing his ax, he cleaved zombies like they were wet paper.

Saeko didn't know what to think about the boy, but there was no doubt in her mind, that he would not disappoint her; that he would became a man worthy of following to the gates of hell, as they were now.

She simply know, in a visceral level perhaps, that Takashi was much more than a passing flirt; they attracted each other, they are drawn by violence and blood, and this zombie apocalypse, as absurd as it could seems at first hand, was just the perfect garden for a couple of wicked blossoms like them to bloom.

Takashi having an anaconda hide under those ragged pants of him was just a secondary bonus in the lust department of the teenager brain of Saeko.,

The group reach a set of stairs, once they went down those stairs, they will reach the hall of the entrance gates, where they could made a run for the school buses and get out of this nightmare; however as they get closer, they discover that the stairs were already filled with another group of students, surrounded by a group of those things.

Takashi observe the scene, he pondered about intervening, after all, even if they were not pack at the moment, in the future they could be; one never underestimated potential allies or foes, you never know where or when would your enemies attack you.

He cracked his neck, readied his ax and with a powerful jump over the fence, land in the middle of the undead horde that were surrounding the students, proceeding to tearing them apart with frightful easiness.

Takashi ear in the distance how his pack called for him, but then they stopped to call him in worry and fear, just observing how he was just butchering the things apart in an incredible display of strength and ruthlessness.

The brow haired teenager claw the head of one of them, and with the same swipe of his arm, torn two in half, tossing them over the fence like they were nothing; after that he grab one by the head and slammed him against five more of them, destroying they bodies by pure brute force.

He slashed, cut, tore, claw, rip and smash his way among the zombies, occasionally and by pure sheer number, they managed to get a bite into his arms, sides or legs, but Takashi just gritted his teeth, destroy completely the offender and let his body take care of the wounds.

Now that his body has adapted to the infection that this wretched things pass onto their victims, it was nothing but a minor nuisance to him; it would made him a bit feverish for a little, but apart from that, there will be no other consequences; his pack was in mortal danger on the other hand, and the less they had to battle this filthy things, the better for all of them.

It didn't take him too long, to get rid of all them, and when he was about to dispatch the last three of them, he noticed how the student group had been reduced to a mere bunch.

In fact there was only a half a dozen of terrified students, all of them holding different kind of improvised weapons.

He took two of the three undead heads and smash them against the remaining head of the third, promptly crushing them in a shower of blood, bone head and brain matter; it was a nasty vision but for the survivors but it was the sound of the salvation.

Takashi wave his hands a little, hiding the claws from the view of the others and recovering his ax from head of one of them as he had buried the sharp blade of the ax to the hilt in one of them in one bloody swing, he still had to control his strength.

Soon the rest of his pack with reunite with him and they could proceed to the entrance hall; he suspected that he would have to kill hundreds more of this things before they could even begun to think they were safe.

Saya slapped him hard on the head, as soon as she could reach Takashi and the half a dozen survivors; not that he sensed anything from the sudden slap, in fact, he was sure that she was the one that was hurt, with her hand swollen from slapping a hard surface.

But she was in an adrenaline high and was far more concerned about the life of Takashi, who had just jump down several meters like it was nothing and claw his way amid an horde of those things like it was a light jog.

Takashi suddenly noticed that he was not even breathing hard; his stamina was out of the charts now, even more than it was previously; that was awesome and perturbing at the same time.

Takashi could see the advantages of this Threrianthrope blood now; still annoyed for the years of suffering, but if wasn't for the blood, he would be dead and stumbling around like one of those things.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" screamed Saya at the top of her lungs, before Kohta, valiantly try to convince the girl to tone down the volume; after all, she was the one that had informed them that those things were guided by sound more than any other sense.

"Easy, Saya-chan" smiled Takashi flexing his left hand a little, the claws went in and out so easily...they didn't even hurt; three inches sharp nails capable to tearing apart steel and concrete like it was wet paper; and much more if what Magnus told him was right.

"Easy?!" almost choked the girl with tears in her eyes, but before she could argue more, Takashi hug her fiercely, covering her frame with his powerful arms.

"This is not the warehouse" said Takashi and she stiffened in his arms, hugging him back strongly.

From the point of view of the young girl, his best friend was going to die again in front of her; something she could not not endure twice again.

It has been not a couple of weeks since the disastrous kidnapping, and the sequels were still fresh in her mind, the sudden lost of Takashi and his miraculous reappearance, and the zombie plague and she had already saw him die in a painful and violent way and.

Saya was a little overwhelmed bu the situation, and now Takashi was realizing how much the girl was coping up; she always was a temperamental girl, and all this shit was overwhelming for everyone around, for the moment they were just coping up with the situation; survival at any cost, later will they made questions and run around like headless chickens.

Saya cry up in the shoulder of Takashi, hugging the boy for her dear life, she need an anchor now, something real to hold up upon, and Takashi, was back, a solid pillar in her life, even with all the problems the boy had with his health.

Problems that no longer seems to be a concern for the boy as it appears, considering how had he just massacre dozens of those things like there were nothing but cattle.

"Yo, Takashi!?" echoed a voice and Takashi look upon to see Morita, one of his pack mates, carrying around a bat covered in blood.

"Morita" recognized Takashi the boy and smiled to him, not leaving Saya out of his arms, as the rest of his pack reunited with them, and greet the other survivors.

"What the heck dude!?" put the bat over his shoulder Morita with sweat running down his brown after how close had he saw the end " when did you became some kind of superman?".

"Uh, long story" chuckled Takashi, who was not ready to told to his pack what he really was.

Both Magnus and him had already decided that few will know of the power of the Threrianthropes, namely their respective packs, and even if Morita was no doubt part of Takashis pack, the rest of the group that Morita was part of, he was not so sure.

There was safety in the numbers, but this was perhaps a matter of quality over quantity, Takashi had to agree with Magnus on that topic, he could only trust a few, less than a dozen persons, that will increase in the future if one takes into consideration the families and acquaintances of his pack mates.

Still, Takashi would try to keep the numbers low; he was powerful, but he was not omnipotent and for all his immunity, none of his pack share that same trait if those things surrounded them, they could kill one of his pack before he could do shit about it.

"Well, make it short, bro" snorted Morita, laying on the railroad of the stairs " this is crazy enough already so, hit me with your worst".

"I will told ya, I promise" said Takashi to his friend " but first comes first, we had to get the hell out of here, before any of this things get a bite on any of us".

"Tch, true" replied Morita sighing tiredly, even if it has been nothing but a couple of hours since all this mess started, it has been worst than an entire marathon to the blonde Mohawk hair styled boy, one of the oldest pals of Takashi, an one that Takashi knew he could trust entirely.

"So, whats the plan now fearless leader?" asked Morita and Takashi blinked a pair of times.

"Duh?" said him back, not sure what to do about that remark.

"What we do now?, do you have a plan to get out there or something?" asked Morita looking at Takashi.

Meanwhile, the rest of the students that were with Morita were chatting and being attended by Marikawa-sensei just in case, some of them had been bitten and had to be...deal with.

Takashi had already prepared himself for that task, even if he hated it; the beast on him had no qualms on taking the driver seat for a sec and behead any infected before they could turn and became a danger for the pack, even if the menace come from the same pack that they were trying to defend at all cost.

"Double duh" smiled Takashi still hugging Saya.

Takashi was running circles on her back with his hands, he knows that it calmed the already overstressed girl a lot, even with all her inner strengths and willpower, seeing his best friend die twice, being told that he was one of them and saw how he charged relentlessly against a horde of that things was a little to much for her.

"She is the genius behind our moves" smiled Takashi with patting Saya on the head, something that he knew the pinkette hated with a passion but secretly enjoyed, not too much after that, a blushing Saya punched him, separating herself from him, more calmed now, that she had vent some stress.

Not so far, Saeko and Rei were staring at the two of them with mixed emotions, Rei was an old friend of both, but after she broke with Takashi; Saya and her were incapable to see each other eye to eye.

Rei was jealous and a little angered, Takashi had never been like that with her; always keeping the distance but now that he was different, Rei was recognizing in the deepest parts of her mind that she may had committed a very bad mistake by breaking up with him.

Saeko on the other hand had another kind of thoughts running on her mind; first of all, she needed a lot of her willpower to just not stare at the carnage with a wicked smile and jump into the bones of Takashi, ravaging him in front of all of the survivors, to make clear that the boy was hers and none else.

It was the first time she had experimented a pull like that; in the couple of chats they had in the previous days, she had to admit that she was content with the boy; he was cute, he was attentive and despite his obvious stares at her figure, he was trying as strong as he could to not be rude or impolite with her.

Saeko was not a complicated woman, well, scratch that, she was a woman, she was complicated on a basis level, but in truth, Saeko was a girl of few vices, however, the one that caused her incredible distress was none other than her unquenchable thirst for violence.

She enjoyed battle, spill blood, cause pain, to swing her sword around and made her enemies fall under her skills and blade.

And now, she was witnessing a side of Takashi that she suspected but never had proof, a side of him that could relate to her more cruel, vicious side; they were more similar than she expected when she saw his violent side for the first time as he trashed a bunch of fools in front of the schools dojo.

"We are going to pick up a school bus and get out" said Saya to Morita.

Morita shrugged and accept the plan without a word, it was not like he had nothing better, so far he was just bashing this things around and running like scared chicken from a place to another.

Takashi clenched his fist a couple of times, letting the two groups mingle; dealing with the zombies has been a good exercise, he was adapting incredible fast to his Threrianthrope powers, something Magnus had already told him, he was of strong blood, and that will show in massive physical powers when his blood stabilized enough and he started to train his body and mind.

He was like a baby now, for the first time in complete control of his own body and testing the limits of his body; far from the enraged state on where he killed the mercenaries that kidnapped Saya like a savage animal would have done.

"Something on your mind Takashi-kun?" echoed the voice of Saeko near Takashi and as always it was like a pull on his soul; the woman had that dammed effect on him.

"I´m not sure, senpai" confessed Takashi " I am dangerous now, and I am starting to realize how dangerous I truly am".

"I will dare say, that the same thing that made you dangerous, is the same thing that miraculously save you from being one of them" whisper the swordswoman.

"Yes" nodded Takashi " I am still adjusting to my actual state, but as I promised I will told you everything as soon as we reach a safe place where to rest" said Takashi, noticing how the group was starting to move.

Takashi would lie if he said that seeing Morita alive and well was not a very welcome sight; losing a member of his pack would be a terrible lost for him; his pack mattered to him more than himself, and if to save one of them he would have to give an arm and a leg, he will give them with a smile.

With her usual mix of brains and cockiness, Saya guided all of the survivors into the stairs that led to the main hall, now that Takashi had cleared a lot of the place; between his awakening and the massacre that he had just protagonist just a second ago; she and Kohta took point, with Takashi in the rear this time, checking from possible chasers.

He doubted of it; his senses told him that there was none of them in the floor, but all the place was swarmed by them; there was hundreds of those things around the buildings and if he was right about the traces of scents he was picking from beyond the school, all the city must be a complete nightmare at this point.

This was no words to describe how everything has gone pear shaped in a blink.

But Takashi was certain that he was not going to fail his pack; they are important to him, and his Threrianthrope blood demands a strong pack against what the world would throw at them.

It was a basic instinct, something that he had before but in a more sedated and confused way, perhaps because he was at war with his own blood; and until whatever created the undead things around him give him the kick his systems needed to reboot himself; but now he was focused on made his pack survive.

He will need a lot of help for that task, even with his enormous strength.

Soon the group reach the stairs of the entrance and as his senses pick before, the place was completely overrun by dozens of those things.

Takashi walk to the front of the group, where the main part of his pack, Saya, Kohta, Saeko and Morita; along Igou and Rei; were pondering what to do now.

Saya was nervously biting one of her nails, something she only did under times of great stress for her, when she was frustrated and wanted to bite the head off whoever was in her way; unfortunately for her, there was a lot of heads, fortunately for her, Takashi could do that, and enjoy a little fun in the process.

However, once again, it would be suicidal for the rest; his strength means nothing if he ends alone, nothing more than a cruel beast that only wanted blood, that would be a destiny worst than death, after all the fight he had put to quell his most bestial urges.

And speaking of those, the beast inside him did seems way more sedated, way more tolerant and flexible about when to unleash the rage and when wait patiently.

It was a good thing anyways, specially now that there was another powerful Threrianthrope near him, Magnus was still in dog form, always close and protecting Marikawa-sensei, someone that was part of two packs, Magnus and Takashis, he was pretty much sure that the question about what pack would the nurse belong to would lead to some serious debates/claws talking in the future, but that was a worry for the future.

"How bad is it?" ask Takashi to the rest of his pack, noticing their distressed appearances, he already smelled and eared constant groans of the undead in the entrance; the sounds echoed on the empty halls and for his sensitive ears, it was easy task to pick up the presence of them all over the place.

"The entrance is a death trap" resume Kohta with his improvised nail rifle on the hands, like it was a baby " they are all over the place, one wrong move and we will we surrounded and tore apart before we could even react".

"If that theory of how they follow sounds is for real" added Rei sitting near Igou, helping the pale boy; despite the treatment of Marikawa-sensei, it was a painful wound, he suffered it when he was protecting one of the two adults present.

Hayashi-sensei and Marikawa-sensei were on the back, protected by Plushy/Magnus as the adults keep the more nervous and terrified of the students as quiet and controlled as possible.

When his ears pick up the sounds of the red head voice, Takashi smiled, she did had a beautiful voice.

Before Saya could snarl at Rei, Takashi intervened.

"I trust Saya completely, if she says they follow sounds, then they follow sounds" said Takashi with absolute confidence, making Saya blush a little but smile to him, for the confidence put in her.

"Then someone had to walk in the middle of that swarm and produce a diversion so we could move outside and into the buses" said Igou with a pale face, walking all the way from the infirmary with a few combats here and there had done little to help heal his badly twisted ankle.

"I will do it" simply stated Takashi scratching the side of his neck and doing some stretching exercises.

"Komuro-kun!" said in a gasp, Hayashi-sensei, joining with the rest as the mass of the group was much calmer now, but still terrified of the situation; as students they were way over their heads, and the teacher were too, but the youngsters tend to rely on adults when the situation went south.

Hayashi Kyoko was taking the situation way badly, but she was doing all she could to be of support of the boy that had give his life for her.

Before his odd resurrection, something that it was not entirely explained yet; Takashi took a dozen of bites for her and Miyamoto Rei when one of the doors of the classes suddenly opened releasing a dozen of those things directly over them.

Only the reflexes of the boy saved her; twice already, one in the entrance and another on the class; for being bitten and then turn into one of those things.

"Don´t worry sensei" smiled Takashi with absolute confidence "I will be well".

"I should be the one" said Saeko, given a step ahead.

"No" said Takashi looking at the swordswoman "just in case something went wrong, I need you here sempai" said Takashi.

"But.." tried to protest Saya and Kohta stopped her, before she could add anything more, Takashi was already on the move in the middle of the sea of corpses.

For everyone that did not know Takashi from before, this was an eye opener experience, and even for those that did knew him before all this nightmare, it only added another layer to the mystery that the boy was now.

No hesitation.

No doubt.

No fear.

Takashi walked in absolute silence in the middle of the swarm of zombies, with a smile lingering in his lips, he slowly walk all the way to the middle of the entrance, indifferent to the walking corpses that surrounded him.

Being completely honest, he was as freak out as the rest, but at the same time, his body and mind just acted on their own, making him walk among the enemy like it was just a stroll on the park.

To be able to pull that stunt out of his hat, the requirement was to have some serious brass balls, and Takashi had them in spades.

Dodging; with grace and never losing the smile; the few that did move to intercept them, more as consequence of their erratic movement than because they had sensed him, Takashi moved to the center of the room, hands on the pockets of his ragged pants.

He reach the center of the room, and stop there, proud and indifferent to the horde surrounding him.

Among his pack and the rest of the survivors, no one dared to utter a word; all of them were flabbergasted by the confidence Takashi exuded like it was something natural to him, his pose, his attitude, all of him scream of power and confidence.

"Wow..way to go, dude" slowly and very faintly whistle Morita with a bat over his shoulders " that some mayor balls".

Saeko on the other hand was smiling, happy to have correctly guessed part of the character of the boy, and she was eager to see more of him, more of the power that he keep under wraps, much like she keep her blood lust under her iron will.

But this nightmare will probably unleash both of them, and a very deep part of her mind was eager to lost control, to finally use her weapons to kill, kill and kill everything in her path, much like a reaper in front of a wheat crop, she knew that this new world in front of her was the perfect place for a person like her.

And she seems to have found another person like her, one that could understand or at last share a bit of her thirst for violence.

Takashi eyed the swarm around him, they were just erratically walking all over the entrance, near the shoe lockers of the entrance of the school, so far Saya theory just proved to be absolutely correct, as he expected from the genius girl; she was a valuable and important part of his pack, he will go hell back and forth for her or any other of his pack members.

His senses were catching quickly the smell of the things that surrounded him, the dry blood, the shit, the wounds that even after an hour look like they were festering at an accelerated rate, perhaps due the the warm climate of the day; it was curious how quick those things got a sick tone all over their bodies, when there was not an hour from some of them to be turned.

Later he would have to talk with Saya and Marikawa-sensei about that, how that sick skin was one of the most prominent symptom of being turned into one of them.

But first comes first.

Takashi grab one of the tumbling fuckers and he just throw him flying to the other end of the room, creating a loud and echoing noise, when the body collided with the lockers, the crystal shelves and all kind of decorations that were on the entrance of the school.

After all it was a very good school, with a lot of fame; otherwise, people like Saya or Saeko would not be in a place like this in a million years; both had quite the name over their beautiful backs...ah, Takashi noted how his more bestial instincts were starting to slip past his defenses.

Not the time to wonder about how an screamer could Saya be or if Saeko would love doggy style and with a shook of his head, Takashi dodged one of them; one that was in direct collision route with him, as it tries to run after the noisy of the fallen and broken zombi on the right of the hall; smirking and focusing his mind into some more practical actions, like get the hell out of there before any of this fuckers had the chance to bite one of his pack.

He waited patiently for the horde to move past him, opening a clear path, so his pack could move outside and into one of the buses; Saya was right after all, they do move by sound, any how, Takashi waited for his chance and when they pass, he walked to the doors and slowly and silently opened them.

As he was the first that could see whats going on outside, he did not surprise very much to see the outside of the entrance; the walk that lead from the door to school door to the metallic gates; was crowed with those things, walking in confuse and random patterns and emitting that sound that grated Takashi nerves.

It was very unpleasant to hear hundreds of those things moan at the same time in your ears; and please don't even make him start about the smell, Takashis nose; even with all the control he had now; was overwhelmed by the thousand different smells.

From the distinctive smells of each person, to the blood, grime, flesh and decayed flesh and putrid skin that those things carries, not to mention the fires and destruction that echoed through all the city, it was a complete pandemonium out there and Takashi could hear and smell it from miles away.

Fortunately, he had his pack to focus his attention, to keep them sane and sound in the middle of this complete disaster.

He went back into the building and made a gesture to the people in the stairs to move, those things would not be distracted forever by the noise, and at some point they will start to wonder around, filling the place to the brim again.

Takashi had already noticed the apparently random movements of those things, they stumble around, until a noise call their attention and then jump at the origin of the sound like a pack of rabid dogs, however, once they had bitten and tore a large chunk of whatever flesh they could put their hands on, they ate it.

But in occasions, they bite and then continue, could it be that they know when a person is already infected and by so, already useless?, sickness as a cure?, that would be a little preposterous but all in this situation was utterly absurd as it is.

From him being some kind of powerful werewolf specie; Threrianthrope as Magnus called it; to this zombie apocalypse that had appear out of nowhere and had transform their teenagers lives into a nightmare.

Takashi lean on one of the doors as everything pass between him and Saeko and Kohta that were guarding the other door, he smiled to all of them; and it did made wonders on everyone moral; they had seem Takashi walk in the middle of the horde without even a twitch.

Cold as the steel of a sword and equally dangerous; as Saeko had whispered in the stairs as she and the rest witness the spectacle flabbergasted; she was liking Takashi more and more each moment, but at the same time, she was intrigued as hell about what has happen to the boy that she knew.

Rei, Igou, Hayashi-sensei, all of them had told about how they had saw Takashi die, and there he was, alive and kicking ass, there was something on him that pulled her, that called her like a month to a flame, and Kamis be dammed she wanted a very, very hot and passionate burn each time she witness him tear apart one of those wretched things.

And then, a loud clang echoed in the school.

It was bad luck really; any sane person would be freaked out at what was happening around him, and do not forget that they were mostly teenagers, people that had their hormones acting in their bodies, producing changes, discovering themselves and the usual shit that went on during puberty.

So, they armed themselves with whatever they had at hand, and one of those impromptu weapons was a metal bar, like the one that is used to hold serum bags on hospitals; as his holder rushed into the stairs and out, the extremes of the bar, hit over the metallic handrail of the stairs.

Metal plus metal, equals noisy sound; sound that echoed in the halls AND the open doors of the school, directly at the mass of tumbling zombies that crowd the gardened entrance of the school.

Takashi sighed, he should have see it coming from a mile away.

"Make a run for the bus, now!" roared Takashi, slamming his face on the first of the things on his way and wildly swinging his ax, tearing apart the nearest zombies..

He did not need to repeat the order, everyone sprint into the open, running like all the hells devils were hot on their heels; something that it was not entirely wrong; Takashi took point, easily surpassing even the fastest runners of the group and proceed to smash and chop into pieces everything that went his way; his claws were already extend and clawing entire body pieces with each swing like they were wet paper, supported by the longer range of the ax.

Saeko at his right, Plushy at his left, Kohta, Morita and Rei covering the back; they open a path for the rest of the survivors to go ahead into one of the buses, guided by Marikawa and Hayashi senseis.

Despite the machine was surrounded; thanks to his pack it was sort work to clean the door of the bus and open it, so all the survivors that had made the run for the bus could enter inside.

There were casualties, but Takashi; in a very crude manner that surprised him a lot, did not pay attention at all; they were no pack, so they were not his problem; what his problem was, was Igou.

" _Fuck, Decision time"_ was the words that crossed over the mind of Takashi.

Igou was injured, his ankle was not ready for a run for the bus, and despite being carried by Morita; a truly bro; they were slower than the rest, Kohta has already his hands full with anything that tried to hunt the people running into the bus, as he covered Saeko when she was dealing with the zombies at the left of the bus.

Takashi could let them die, yes he could; Igou was not a pack mate, he betrayed him, he fucked his girlfriend as soon as he...wait.

Takashi snap out of it; he should have to talk to Plushy/Magnus about this dark thoughts, he was not like that; that was dangerous to think that way, it would; in the long run; damage the pack more than anything else.

Ok, it would be arrogant of him to say that he did not had an ax to grind with Igou, he hooked up with Rei not even a fucking week after they broke; it had a sadistic sense, she went to cry on the shoulder of her best friend, AKA Igou, former bro of Takashi.

It hurt, a fucking lot; but Takashi had another worries to deal with, so he steeled his heart and go ahead, even after Saya give him an earful and stop talking to him for a week for being a stupid wimp; it did hurt too, Saya apologized later on, as it was just her Tsundere side taking the control of the best of her, but Takashi had to admit, that she did had a reason.

And now Takashi had the options right in front of his face, he rip the head of the nearest zombie and with a loud sigh, he did what was right; even if his worst side was calling him for just turn his back and get his ass into the bus; feet to the pedal and get the hell out of there.

Like a juggernaut, Takashi charge into the mass of zombies that were slowly surrounding the wounded Igou and Morita, the blonde mohawk guy was putting a brave resistance, smashing the head of anything that comes near him with his bat, but they were too many and he had to carry with Igou.

The flesh of the zombies was torn apart by Takashi claws and ax, sending pieces of flesh and bone; along wide splashes of the filthy blood of those things into the air, more than a fight, it was a complete massacre; the zombies looks like they had been put through a meat grinder, savagely being rip to shreds by the furious Takashi.

Morita and Igou just look at the covered in blood teen with open eyes, before Takashi ended two of the remain undeads with a savage pull of their heads, ripping them out of their necks in a shower of blood and gore.

"Get your asses into the dammed bus!" roared Takashi pointing at the bus, were Kohta and Saeko were dealing with anything that came close to the car.

He noticed that Magnus/Plushy was not helping them and his nose soon picked up; even as he was covered in blood, flesh and sweat; the smell of the controlled aggression that the older Threrianthrope was emitting; he soon picked up the hidden message; there was problem on the inside of the bus, the sooner he got in, the better.

But that second of distraction was enough for a bunch of those things to dog pile Takashi and bite into his body, drawing blood most because their feral and relentless bites than any real sharp fangs they could have; roaring in sudden pain, Takashi claw and rend the closest one to his hands as he glare at his former friends.

Something must have happen to his face, because he could see the horrified expression of his eyes, he suspected that Magnus/Plushy would have a shit ton things more to explain to him as he had a couple of seconds to enjoy a little rest.

"I said Move!" Takashi moved his hands and grabbing two of the heads that the zombies that were biting him, he squeezed until they exploded like watermelons under an hydraulic hammer.

Morita and Igou were pale as ghost and obey without questions, the order of Takashi who just took a couple of seconds to deal with the nuisances around him, as soon as he had lost a second, a dozen of others things had jump at him, jaws first.

Vicious little things, they were a hell more strong than Takashi did give them credit for; and those bites started to sting like hell; his body was already fighting the infection or whatever the hell what turned people into this little shits was; fortunately, Magnus had already explained that survive the infection once, and he will be immune, however, fighting the sickness would still take some effort from him.

Takashi grunted and keep killing those things, clawing and gashing their heads and bodies, to the point were they were nothing but ribbons of flesh onto his claws and over the soil of the entrance of the school.

For a second, he kind of felt thankful for his darker and more animal side, the one that allowed to kill, and kill, and kill, until there were not more threats to the pack around; otherwise he would be freaking out like any common and sane person would do in a situation like this.

The roar of the motor of the bus called his attention, and saw Kohta waving at him from one of the windows, the worry on the face of his friend was more than clear, and Takashi just made a run for the vehicle, he had to deal with a couple of nuisances on the way, but nothing worth of mention.

A quick glance to his surroundings and he saw how a bigger group of survivors had made it to the bus, when he was dealing with the rescue of Morita and Igou; unfortunately, among those survivors he caught the smell of that snake of a human being, Shido.

He reached the door of the bus, and jumped in, surprising all of the ones inside, before slamming the door shut in front of another couple of things that tried to enter and with a snarl ordered the nurse to hit the pedal.

"Ram those fuckers sensei!" growled Takashi, who had several wounds all over his body; not only from vicious bites, but from nails marks, bruises, and red marks on where the things buried their dirty nails and teeth.

Ah, and he had lost his ax, somewhere along the massacre he had just enacted to save Morita and Igou; for Takashi it was a real pity, he liked that ax a lot, it was perfect for him.

Shizuka-sensei did not need any more cheering, and with a wide smile, she just step into the pedal, making the bus motor roar and move it, into a straight line to the school fence.

Dozen of those things were rammed by the bus, sending their broken and battered bodies into the air or to the sides, where they splattered the threes and the floor of the entrance of the school; a few went flying into the roof of the bus, rebounding a couple of times before fall back to the ground in a bloodied pulp.

Magnus/Plushy, Saeko and Takashi couldn't suppress a savage and wicked smile on their lips as Shizuka run the bus over those things; each for their own reasons.

It didn't take long for the bus to let the school behind, and soon all of them could see the horrid state of the city, as they drove down the hill that guide to the school entrance; fires and smoke littered the urban scenery, as loud noises that came from the conflict that was taking place.

From time to time, they could see some helicopters flying the city, going into the military bases that were way beyond the boundaries of the civilian residences, and near the sea.

Takashi just sat on the floor; near the driving Shizuka and the comfortable laying mass of fur that was Magnus/Plushy, who seems to have reclaimed the seats behind the driver seat; not really a surprise for Takashi, the older ,and way more powerful than him Threrianthrope, had already explained to him that Shizuka was part of his pack, and he will protect her at any cost, even if she had no idea about what he really was.

With a side glance to Magnus/Plushy, he could sense the humor rolling off him; even in this apocalypse, Magnus/Plushy was incredible confident, he was capable of protecting Shizuka with easiness, and only because he sense he need to help the boy and his pack, he stayed there.

In a sense, The older Threrianthrope feel obliged to help the boy with his changes, he had not a pack to explain him things, only his recently formed pack and none of them had a sliver of Threrianthrope blood on them.

However, Magnus/Plushy knew a couple of things about Sayas family that he will keep for himself, he had relative good relationship with the Takagis and saw no reason why should he sour them by revealing secrets of the family.

Takashi felt movement at his side, and with a smile, he greet Saeko who has moved to see how was him; there was a worry on her eyes that did not fell well for Takashi and, oh, of couse, he should have thought about it.

"Whats up?" said Takashi to the swordswoman, raising from the floor, still covered in wounds and the blood of his enemies.

"Takashi-kun...we" she tried to explain with a side glance to the rest of the bus; only his pack had the balls and the courage to got closer to him, with a mix of worry and fear that only pained Takashi; he was conscious of how dangerous and horrific he could seem to be to them, but he will protect them all, he swore it.

"I know" smiled sadly Takashi, looking at the eyes of the woman, she did blush a little for that intense and warm glare all over her.

Compared to the usual stern and ice lady like behavior of Saeko, Takashi couldn't but fell that she was criminally cute with that blush; needing all his force of will to do not jump at her and kiss her like no tomorrow; and judging from the slight smirk on her lips, she had noticed his struggle; he turn to the rest of the bus.

"Look, I know that I appear to be bitten" start Takashi, with a sweep over the survivors on the inside of the bus, inside his mind, he snarled at that cretin of Tsu..something, he didn't remember him that well, and Shido, that living snake; there was something on that man that rubbed him all the wrong ways.

Takashi take out his borrowed jacket; it was practically torn to shreds any way; so everyone could see the horrid collection of wounds that he sported on his body, and the perfect body he had now; perfect muscles, perfect definition, he was the epitome of the masculine body; none in the bus lost sight of both facts.

"But, for me, this is nothing but a nuisance" announced and closing his eyes for a second, he inhaled and clenched his fist.

In a second, the wounds started to emit a tiny and soft smoke, before they knitted together at amazing rate, closing the holes and gashes on the flesh like they were never there, only leaving the dry blood and dirty over the body of the teenager.

It ended in ten seconds, more or less, all his wounds had disappeared like they were not there.

To say that everybody in the bus was shocked would be the underestimation of the century.

"Oh, boy" snarled Takashi "I am hungry, thirsty and only wishing for a bed and sleep until the next century".

"Ey, bro" called Morita to Takashi, tossing him a can of Lipovitan D, a popular branch of energetic drinks in Japan "you need this more than me".

"Kami bless you, pal" smiled Takashi to his dear friend, gulping down the entire can, he was really thirsty after all.

"You welcome" smiled back Morita, leaning on the head of his chair "but seriously Takashi, were the hell did you get those muscles from and where could I get some?" laughed the blonde teenager.

"They were always mine" shrugged Takashi crunching the can in his hand and tossing the scrap of metal into the tiny plastic bin of the bus "why do you think I always wore winter jackets?".

"Pity..:" said Hayashi sensei, and she covered his mouth with a hand, once he realized what she had said out loud, blushing furiously.

Takashi flashed his own blushing smile to the woman, and action that only made him more human and attractive to the eyes of most of the female population at the bus, and increase the hate with capital letters that a couple of men had on him.

"Uh, thanks Sensei" scratched the back of his head Takashi.

"Well, I am impress, really" appeared the voice of Shido in the bus, and Takashi grimaced.

Takashi really felt like taking a shower, every time this man opened his mouth.


	3. Even worse days

He should have seen it coming.

He really should have.

After Shido; Takashi would never call that piece of filth sensei anymore; started to preach like some kind of televangelist in the bus, something he barely pay attention; as he was way more interested in how was the state of his pack than anything the bastard had to say; but Rei snapped badly at the words of the man.

She jumped out of the bus before continue listening to Shidos crap, however, she jumped right in front of a car, filled to the brim with those things, and of course, none of them had the slightest idea of how to drive.

Takashi was faster and tackle the girl, hugging her and taking the impact of the car against his body, shielding his ex-girlfriend from the crash against the metal front of the car; the impact send both of them flying, and between the cracks and pops of his bones and muscles, Takashi was pretty much convinced that he ear the voice of his pack calling for him.

Not half a second later, a burning bus slam against the car and made a loop in the air; If it weren't for the fact of the blood and broken bones, Takashi would whistle at the amazing stunt; before crash down like a meteor and completely collapsing the tunnel where he and Rei had been sent by the car collision.

Rei and the rest shout at each other between the flames, trying to make a plan for a possible reunion, despite the faint protest of Shido, who tried to convince everyone that both would be death, but none of his pack wanted to believe that shit, especially after how has he cheated death twice already.

Anyhow, the bus just went kaboom in all his faces and Takashi; limping more than running; along with Rei, had to jump outside the tunnel, Takashi was too slow and took the full brunt of the shock wave, acting again as living flesh shield for Rei.

The action that led to him being suddenly attacked by one of those undead things with a biker helmet; grabbing the thing by the throat with whatever was left of his left arm, Takashi was waiting for his right arm to heal enough to rip these clowns head out of his shoulders.

Rei intervened, and smashed the head of the biker zombie with a heavy stone; it was not needed but still appreciated, it would lessen the burden over Takashi body, his double stunt as meat shield has shown him an entirely new world of pain; he was not that wrecked since the van that kidnapped Saya run over him at full speed.

Not pleasant at all.

Any case, Takashi just cover his face with his left arm and grunted, leaving his body to take care of the burns, broken bones and torn muscles; he had soon learned to trust his healing factor but as Magnus/Plushy had already explained to him, his healing will be proportional to his will.

Lose the will to live, you die; as simple as that.

He used a strange word for that, something in his face, a glint of sadness that Takashi perceived, made him do not inquire more; the older Therianthrope seem to had bad experiences in the matter.

"Takashi?" the faint and worried voice of Rei called his attention " are you okay?".

It was a stupid question, but in all, Takashi could not blame the girl to be confused and just react in conventionalism, asking standard questions for non-standard situations.

"Peachy" grumbled Takashi when a sudden pang and pop reconnect his spine back into its place.

Rei flinched at the tone of Takashi and the sounds his body was producing as it heals himself, and the teenager Therianthrope felt like a major ass for made his ex-girlfriend flinch like he was about to hit her; despite all, despite all the history they lag behind them; the abrupt and not pleasant at all broke they had; Takashi could not hate the girl.

She was a teenager, and if Takashi had learned something of all the shit that he has had to deal with during the time his body was trying to heal himself, it was that the puberty is a very, very bad bitch to deal with.

Hormones screaming, bodies changing, appetites awakening; in resume a complete mess.

Takashi grunted and slowly begun to raise from the floor where he was laying, not even sparing a second glance at the body of the thing that Rei has killed with a big stone slab; it was a good thing, that Rei was a trained martial artist; as Saeko was a swordswoman, Rei was a spearwoman, a veteran member of the Sojutsu Club.

Rei was looking at him with tears in her beautiful eyes and Takashi just snarled inside his mind, he couldn't bear the sight of the woman he loved once, in such a state, even if she was the responsible for the state he was in, and the crazy stunt she pulled out of her sweet ass when she jumped out of the freaking bus.

Takashi stood up and stretched his body, with a loud series of cracks and pops; damn it had hurt like hell to recompose half of his body again, and now that he had a second to ponder about it, he was hungry and thirsty as hell. His healing had to come from somewhere after all, and a little grub to recharge batteries would be awesome, unfortunately, that would have to wait until he got reunited with his pack.

"Come" Takashi extend his hand to the girl on the verge of tears " let's get out of here".

Rei blinked a pair of times, and with a faint smile, clean her faint tears and take the hand of Takashi, that raise her like it was nothing, together, they went up the hill on where Takashi has been recovering from the wounds and damages of the double accident.

"Uh...Takashi?" called Rei to her, well, she was not entirely sure how to call him now, he was no longer boyfriend, and she had to admit that she has done a lot of stupid things and could have destroyed her friendship with Takashi, despite all the good reasons she had for it and...

"What?" simply answered Takashi.

He looked at Rei with a pair of honey brown eyes that she had to admit, never looked that intense, he was way too different; and handsome; than he was when they were dating like he has changed somehow and after whatever happened to him when those things bite him.

"I..Uh, Takagi-san said to reunite with them in front of the police station of the district" explained Rei about the conversation they had when he was still a little out from the car crash.

They had to shout at each other after the fire and the car crash but for what Takashi listened, Saya has given them a set of instructions about how to reunite them together, if not the same day, the next; in a place where they could find shelter and if they were lucky, someone who could explain to them what the heck was going on.

Being honest, Takashi had more than enough in his plate already with his newfound state as Therianthrope; despite findings, his new physical progress more than convenient for this shitty apocalypse; the sooner anyone could create a semblance of order in the middle of this chaos, the better for everybody.

"Saya is a freaking genius" chuckled Takashi who was proud of the intelligence of the pink haired girl, one of his oldest and more valuable friends.

Rei seemed to fidget a little for the comment, she would like to be praised like that too, but she knew that she was not in position to say nothing, it was her fault all this situation after all or better said it was all fault of that Shido bastard, that monster was the responsible for all of this with his cultlike bullshit that was eating the wills and the brains of a lot of the survivors of the bus.

"Cool!" the happy voice of Takashi snapped her out of her thoughts.

Takashi was raising from the sidewalk of the hill, a bike with a big bump on the left side, probably when the biker that had attacked them, turned, after being bitten and forgot how to drive.

Takashi was looking at the bike like a child would be looking at a very expensive gift that had suddenly found his way into his lap; he checked the bike with a smile that Rei had not seen in him in a long time; she really would love if Takashi could smile at her like that again.

But that was an already more than burned bridge, when she dated Hiashi, after breaking with the teenager in front of him in a very bad manner; she always feel bad about that, she had to do it, he wouldn't understand and he was always so..she didn't know how to call his attitude around her when they were dating, it was like he feared something.

And now she was the one that feared him, she was the one that has seen how truly dangerous he was and in a little corner of her mind, her heart and brain were having a very heated debate about what to think about the new Takashi.

Well, it was a turmoil more than a debate, first of all, because she saw him die in front of her eyes, and that shock, was buried under the necessity of survival, just add the impression of seeing him alive and well, and then how she almost lost Hiashi too, and how Takashi was just as dangerous and violent as all those things and...

Rei hugged herself, she hated to be alone, she has always been with someone, her mom, Takashi, Hiashi, she hated the solitude, and now she feared that Takashi hated her and this new Takashi was not the one she knew so well, the one that she fell in love with, but now? she was not sure anymore, he was better, he was worst, he was dangerous, he was handsome as hell.

In resume, the usual ramblings of a teenager girl, that only went through the roof in the face of a zombie apocalypse.

Takashi noticed the sudden change in the smell and attitude of the girl; it was easy for his senses to catch up those changes, especially in those important to him; she was part of the pack, well, she was in the past, even if she betrayed him and rip his heart out of his chest and stomped on it a couple of times for good measure.

Well, he didn't really like to hold grudges, and even if what Rei and Hiashi did to him was a very bad thing, the feelings he once had the orange haired girl was something that could not be forgotten; is hard to forget the first love after all, however, Takashi had to admit that he had other objectives now, and he totally blamed his Therianthrope blood for that sudden and brutal urges he had from time to time, at the most inappropriate of the moments.

Anyway, he should console the girl; truth to be told, Takashi was as scared as she was, but his Therianthrope blood made it appear like he didn't give a damn about anything, a thing that it was absolutely wrong; he would gladly give his life for anyone of his pack, the mere idea of losing any of them made his blood run cold.

"Out with it," said Takashi to Rei, raising from the side of the bike; leaving apart the dent on the metal, the bike was perfectly fine and would serve them to quickly rejoin the others in the rendezvous point.

Rei, blinked and look at him with a confused expression, she didn't understand for a couple of seconds, and then she relaxed a little, with a faint smile, just ask Takashi the real question she wanted to ask since all this debacle started and she saw him back among the living.

"Do you hate me?" there was a ton of emotions running on that question, none of them was easy to respond, and all of them were carrying thousands of different meanings, usual thing with teenagers, that were starting to walk into adulthood and had their bodies and hormones running rampant.

"No" was the quick and clear answer of Takashi " I should, but I don't" explained the boy leaning on the bike so she could see her eyes and face, and see that there were no lies on his words.

"Look, Rei" sighed Takashi "we...ah, hell, I don't know what to say to you" grumbled Takashi.

Rei was relieved, a lot; but even then, the coldness of Takashi, when she or Hisashi was in the room, was something she got never accustomed and even if she recognized that she broke with Takashi in a very bad way, she never wanted to lose him as a friend.

"I did wanted to beat the crap out of Hiashi and hurt both of you" confessed the boy and Rei flinched at the words and at the tone of Takashi, who was full of hurt than anger " but, the time pass and I had my own problems to deal with; among those, this new physical progress I posses".

"I am sorry" said Rei in a whisper, a little scared, Takashi was not human anymore, so much was true and despite the mess of feelings she had, she feared him too, any normal person would, if you saw him tear apart those things from the dozens, only with his claws or swinging a firefighters ax.

"Its all in the past now" shrugged Takashi and sitting on the bike, he ignited the vehicle with a loud and satisfactory roar that made the boy smile; he was still mourning his lost bike, that glorious piece of machinery that was wrecked by the mercenaries that kidnapped Saya in the past.

"Hop in" called the girl and she compelled quickly not really wanting to be alone in the middle of this nightmare.

He twisted the handle of the bike and the two-wheel vehicle roared as they moved into the main road to the city.

Just as Takashi suspected, all the place has gone to hell; not only for the groups of those things that were everywhere but for the crazy as hell survivors that suddenly started to attack everything in their sight, as it would do something to help them survive.

Sound only attract more of those things, and then you must be quicker than them to leave them behind and just live for another day, shooting a shotgun in the middle of the street, even if the street is on fire; literally; and the cacophony would only be a beacon for hordes of them.

Takashi was more or less convinced that he could deal with a large group of those things, if he had space for hit and run or in a confined space, where he only had to deal with one or two of them at a time; otherwise they would chew him little by little, like a pack of wolves would do to a mighty bear.

He was not invincible, just a lot tougher than the rest of the folks that had been already bitten and turned into a groaning, walking corpses; a destiny that he would not share, instead they would rip him to pieces, as he was fresh, not tainted flesh, ready to be consumed.

These things were just all about putting their mouths into the nearest piece of flesh, it does look like some kind of virus or sickness, or whatever; Takashi was sure Marikawa-sensei or Saya would have a theory by now about what the hell was going on; they were infinitely more clever than him.

The pack is all about covering each other weaknesses, Takashi was neither a brain nor a medic.

The kind nurse of the school; far more intelligent than people gave her credit for; and the heir of the Takagi were exactly those two things, and on the second order of things, Takashi was pretty much sure Magnus/Plushy would not allow any harm came to them.

Although, Takashi was not sure, up to where will the older Therianthrope risk his neck for Takashi's pack; Marikawa-sensei was part of his pack, but it was clear for Takashi that the older Therianthrope had already marked Marikawa as his, he was already living with the nurse; even if it was in dog form; and had already a relationship with the roommate of the nurse, a woman called Rika.

Takashi was a little surprised for the fact that Magnus/Plushy seems to have marked two women as mates, after all, for what Magnus/Plushy has insinuated during the crash course he gave to Takashi at the end of his first change; the mates were a deadly serious topic for any proud Therianthrope.

However, Magnus seems to have two wives?, mates?, Takashi was confused by now, and he will ask the older Therianthrope about that matter when they could have a break from all the madness surrounding him.

Speaking of which; and without even losing a beat of his own little ramblings, Takashi dodged another shot from a crazy idiot with a shotgun, and pull a couple of stuns with the bike so another crazy asshole with a carver knife didn't cut them or another with a metal bar didn't break Rei skull open.

Left, right, and left again; a zig-zag pattern that prevented the crazy psycho of the gun to full them of holes, like the car he just pass and that exploded not half a minute after between the holes in the deposit and the fires that surrounded the street; it looked like a damn war zone, full to the brim with all kind of violence; from the cannibal attacks of those things, to the violence crazy people do on each other.

"Why do they attack us?!" screamed Rei grabbing Takashi waist for her dear life "we are alive!".

"They don't care" simply shrugged Takashi and kick into a wall one of those things that got to close to be comfortable "everybody, are enemies for them, the living and the death".

Her grab his waist went stronger and hide her face on his already more than torn school jacket, trying to blind herself from the carnage around her.

Takashi know that Rei was not a delicate flower, she could be really nasty and violent when she wanted and she was an expert with a lance, she was one of the stars of the Sojutsu club; but this was out of the League of any sane person, only those with a very specific and crazy as hell kind of mind would be comfortable in this messed up world.

And monsters like him, but that was another can of worms to open another time.

Takashi was going to tell his pack all the truth, expect Magnus/Plushy; the older Therianthrope will reveal himself when he thought it would be appropriate; he will show them how animal he could become when the push came to the shore, and if Magnus/Plushy was right, it was going to be far worst.

Magnus/Plushy was capable of shapeshifting between human and dog/wolf at will and keep his mind completely intact, he was older than he let on and he was stronger and far more powerful than Takashi, not to mention he had the advantage of who knows how many years of experience with his powers.

Takashi was happy to have the old wolf around, he has helped him, even if he didn't appear so; once Takashi calmed enough, he recognized that the presence of the older Therianthrope helped him; in subtle ways; but it was there, helping through the worst seizures or simply with his presence, so he would never felt completely alone.

He didn't want to admit it; any pack animal would not want to admit it, but being alone was one of the worst things such animals could experiment, and Takashi, despite all his antics and own quirks hated to be alone; he prefers quality over quantity but still, he hated to be alone.

Now he had a pack and pretended to defend it at any cost; to the hell with whoever stood his way.

Once they made pass the worst of the blockade that this street seems to have become, between the zombies and the crazies with weapons, the rest of the road; if you could dodge the abandon cars or the ones where those things were still lurking and just laze around, waiting for their next prey; was pretty clear, easily allowing them to cover a lot of ground.

They were crossing a river through a bridge when suddenly a jet plane of some kind pass right at his side; Takashi senses picked up the roar of the engines and the flash and sudden reflect of the light of a camera; he almost flip the bird to the plane; Rei saluted at the plane, thinking that it was a good sign, that the military was doing something to fight back and all.

It must be the pessimistic inside of Takashi, but he did not have any high hopes on that front; after all, he did saw a lot of choppers at the beginning but right now, he had seen anything that indicates that there was any kind of rescue; of course it was still early to judge; after all it has passed barely half a day since he ever started to live in this nightmare, and if one had to judge based on the movies; such a massive rescue operation is not something one call put out of his ass like it was nothing.

Anyhow it did seem to lighten up the spirit of Rei, and even if it has only served to that, he appreciated the help; Rei was a teenager girl at heart, and despite all her strength and valor, she was not the one with a healing factor, increased and impossible physical strength or three inches claws capable of tearing steel and concrete like it were wet paper.

Being a Therianthrope does have its perks, although after the years of bullshit that Takashi had suffered before it, were no worth it; not to mention, he was physically much better now, but the mind part...well, that's a tricky one, his urges were way more focused.

To be blunt, he was horny as hell ninety percent of the time, looking for a worthy mate to claim and ride until both passed out of pleasure.

Takashi growled under his breath, it was getting worst and how the perky and soft mounds of Rei; a total bombshell, by the way; squeezed against his back, was not helping, in fact, it was making it worst and he noticed a couple of pangs in his pants, as his little wolf was starting to awake for the sensations.

This was not the time, really not.

Twirling the handle of the bike; increasing the speed of the machine, Takashi drove into the exit of the main road, if his memory was correct, this shortcut would be relatively free of traffic, as all the cars would be swamped in the middle of the city during the first hours of the outbreak.

However, soon they found a police car, crashed against the exit that they were going to take to get out of the main roads; the front car of the car was totally mess up against the wall, and Takashi had to put the brakes, he had little space to maneuver and surpass the wrecked car.

Pulling a stop, he let Rei get down the bike and she walked with a scared expression to the car, looking at the corpses with fear and then with relief, an action that did not go unnoticed by Takashi; he suspected that the girl feared that her father was among the two corpses of the car, fortunately, it didn't seem so.

Much to the surprise of Takashi, the girl started to look for something inside the car and soon, she turned to him, offering him a little pistol, a standard pistol for all the police officers of the city; trying to remember what Kohta explained him about firearms during all those chats in the roof, he believed it was a Smith and Wesson model 37 Airsmith, if he recalled correctly.

"Thanks, Rei" smiled Takashi to the girl, and with a soft sound, made his claws appears on his fingers " but I am already more than armed, don´t you think?".

Rei blushed a little but still she insisted on keeping the gun, she said they would be safer with it around; and Takashi agreed with her, after all, he was quite limited in reach, only at arms range, and the gun could eliminate one of those things before he even had the time to move.

Walking down the bike, Takashi gently moved Rei out of the way and with a flex of his arms and neck, grabbed the back of the car, tensing his muscles and dragging the ton of scrap metal out of the way with brute strength; considering that he was a teenager and had pushed out of the road about a ton of metal scrap, it was quite the feat.

Rei was freaked out by the feat of strength of Takashi, nothing human could have pulled out that one out of his sleeves and still look it was nothing but a bit of an effort.

"Well, that would suffice" snorted Takashi, flexing his shoulders for the effort; he was pretty much sure that if he wanted, he could have tossed the car over his head and into a building, but that would take a lot from him, and he was already hungry and thirsty for all the healing and fighting he has done during all the day.

And what a fucking day, it has resulted to be.

Rei just kept staring at the boy, and her mind just wander to those steely muscles that rippled under his open and torn jacket, this was not the body she remembered, in fact, this was not the Takashi she remembered at all; the boy she fell in love with was not this, wolf in human skin.

Rei just stared at him with a mixture of worry, fear and tiny spark of teenage lust, and Takashi noticed it but as the proverbial ostrich, he just kept his head buried in the earth; despite all the cold shoulder he was giving to the girl, old loves did not die so damn easily; in fact Takashi knew that at some point, his lust was going to be dangerous to control.

Especially if the Therianthropes had some kind of mating season; that was to be quite a problem until he had found his mate or mates in the plural; damn instincts again, playing dirty tricks like that in his mind when he slipped his defenses a little.

Rei sit on the back of the bike, as Takashi drove it past the broken barricade, they didn't even spare a second glance to the corpses, none of them seem to actually wanted to be back and biting, most probably because both their heads were smashed against the front of the driver and co-drivers seats; the airbag could do nothing to prevent their deaths.

There was never too much traffic on this road, it was a relative secondary one, and only those who lived in the nearby did really make good use of it, allowing them to a quick access from their homes to the road, when they were back from the job or going to their jobs.

Takashi's father was one of them, and the boy had extra care to drove around with his bike when he was sure that they will be no one in the road who could denounce him or to be caught in a traffic accident due to his poor driving skills, with the years he became quite good with a bike, although he was eager to put his hands on a real bike and not the ones that the law established as legal for his age.

He was pretty much sure, then in the middle of this zombie apocalypse no one will ever give a damn about a teenager driving a bike; they will far more interested in survive another day.

Takashi feel how the breast of Rei bounced up and down his strong back on each dump of the road and Takashi growled in his mind; in part absolutely enjoying the experience, on the other hand, feeling quite conflicted about that.

Rei was Igou girlfriend now, and he was not going to do what they did to them; no way in hell, he was way better than that.

Although, Takashi could not know that Rei was as flustered as he, she was riding on a bike, hugging the perfect body that Takashi possessed now, sensing the steel like muscles of his back and his diamond-hard abs move under her hands, not to mention that she had taken a good and long sight at the bulge in his pants and had to hide how she was blushing to the root of her orange hair.

Both teenagers were having less than pure thoughts, but fortunately, Rei found a theme of conversation that will not end in a very awkward manner.

"What happened to you Takashi?" asked the girl over the noise of the bike " when did you change like that?".

Or perhaps she did not have that insight.

Takashi answered from the deep of his soul, it was a too good opportunity to let it pass.

"You wouldn't understand" deadpanned Takashi as an answer, mind you, that in his mind, he was laughing like a madman.

Rei flinched and slumped a little, leaning the side of her head on the broad and powerful back of Takashi, those were the exact same words that she toss at him when they broke up as a couple.

Not long after her own father came to her in tears; the man that she always had as an unbreakable pillar; and confess to her that she was going to be held a year, as an advertisement for her father that any more diggings into their business would lead to bigger consequences, next time instead of holding her a year, perhaps they will snatch her and broke her like a good bitch before sending her back to her father.

They had been very descriptive of what they would do to her if her father kept with his line of work, an investigation that had already cost him his job, and if he kept pressing on, it would soon cost him his daughter or his wife in a very crude and brutal manner.

She was broken that day, she cried rivers and when she saw Takashi the next days, his usual reserve and always careful actions around her like she was some kind of glass doll, it made him snap badly at him, pouring a lot of pent-up frustration and rage into the boy that had done nothing but love her, even if it was in his own cautious and always tiptoeing way of doing things, the ones to blame for her outburst.

"Takashi.." just whimpered her, and Takashi growled, he was as weak to the pledge of a beautiful girl as any other hot-blooded male, and if said girl was your first love, that pledge was thrice effective "I know, you are angry with me, but please, can you just act like we did in the past?".

"No" was the dry and quick response of Takashi " we are way past that now, Rei" sighed Takashi who did his best to do not ear the cries of the girl behind him; those tears were not his problem, even if each one of them was like a dagger to his heart.

"Just for old times?, please" that was a beg, and Takashi started to see the problem here.

Rei was alone, alone with an ex-boyfriend who was capable of tear apart a person like it was made of wet paper and had all the reasons of the world to be mad at her after the idiotic stunt that had almost cost her life, he has saved her life; thrice now in the span of several hours and the girl just wanted to believe that she was safe, that she was with a friend.

The protest of the bike cut short the answer of Takashi, the marker of the gas tank was dangerously close to the big E of empty, and he grunted, raising the eyes to look out for a nearby station, fortunately there was one nearby, and with a sudden pull, he drag the bike out of the road and into the detour for the station.

Saved by the bell, however, he knew that Rei would not let it go; it was deadly serious matter for her, to know that her ex-boyfriend was not going to tear her apart like he was doing with any of those things that he came across, or abandon her in the middle of this mess.

Despite having tackle her out of a car accident, taking the hit instead of her; a hit that should have kill her without a doubt; she feared that it has been the straw that broke the camel back; that because of her actions, Takashi would saw her nothing but a nuisance, and his cold demeanor and responses was only adding more fuel to the fears of the girl.

Takashi parked in front of the fuel dispensers and look with a raised eyebrow at the machines; Rei just get out of the bike and wait patiently on the sides, nursing her spear and the pistol that she got from the dead policemen, she had never refuel a bike, she didn't have one, so she never learned how to do it.

However, Takashi grunted and put his hands into the empty pockets of his borrowed pants, his wallet and all his few possessions were left on the school when he had the first change, and that included the medicine of Doctor Morgan, his cigars, and his MP3.

Right now, Takashi would gladly give an arm for a glass of his medicine and a cigar; even if he had got much better after his first change, now that his animal side was no longer at war with himself, that side of him was slowly slipping some manners and thoughts into him.

Namely his even bigger brutality than before, his harshness, his increasing appreciation for the feminine form; a euphemism for his urges to jump at his females and ravish them until they could only scream his name in the highest peak of pleasure.

"Ey, Rei" called Takashi the girl as he eyed the surroundings, there was a lot of those things and a few survivors running around, nothing to be worried off.

"Yes?" answered her with a flinch for the growling tone of Takashi, he did seem pissed off for something; she hoped she was not the cause.

"Did you managed to keep some cash with you?" asked the boy.

"No, sorry, I lost my wallet and purse back in the school," said her and Takashi just sighed, before raising an eyebrow and smile with a wicked smile.

"Give me a minute, will ya?" Takashi lock his gaze into the shadows of the gas station shop " I have something to do inside".

"Oh, sure, I will be here" she smiled and Takashi smiled back to her, something that give her hopes that perhaps he had not forgotten her completely.

Takashi entered into the shops and Rei moved a couple steps ahead, a little curious about what Takashi was doing inside the dark shop; she feared that there could be some of those things lurking inside the shop, waiting for any living person to enter and then devour him.

Much like Takashi had done.

The sudden and violent sound of something being smashed and something metallic being torn apart, startled Rei who stiffened in sudden worry and fear, but when the laugh of Takashi reach her, she just sighed, relieved that it was Takashi having fun by ripping open the cash machine and if the sounds of crystal being broken violently were a hint, she suspected the tobacco machine too.

"Someone is having a lot of fun" she slumped a little in her posture, relaxing for a second after all that has happened to her in during all this day, it was overwhelming and she was not entirely sure of what the heck has happened when she was not looking.

It has been a rare week anyway, Igou was extra careful with her, Takashi just ignored them, giving them cold shoulders at every turn, and then the rumors about his growing relationship with the Ice Queen Busujima reach her and she felt a knot in the gut.

Ok, he was no longer her boyfriend but even then, the mere idea of losing Takashi, one of the few that she could really call true friends, was something that she was not ready to accept; she respected Busujima-senpai, she was one of the most capable swordswomen that she had ever seen, and the number one beauty in the school for what that cretin of Morita keep babbling.

There was a real, tiny, but present; the chance that Takashi could fall in love with the Ice Queen and forget about her, enough she had with Takagi, and how she has become such a bitch after she and Takashi broke up when her dad broke in tears in front of her.

Rei had; surprisingly from her point of view; very few true friends, and among those, two names came at front in that list, Takashi, and Igou, and for a long time, Takashi was all she needed, until she got tired of how he treated her like she was made from glass and always minding his steps around her.

Rei was not a bad girl, far from it; but as all teenager, she was as confused and lost as the rest of the youngsters of her age; however, puberty can be a real bitch for anyone, especially when love matters came up front; a lot of couples on this day do a lot of harm to each other; not by real malice, but simply because they were still trying to find their place in the world.

However, and this was a great, however; Takashi was not your common everyday teenager, instead, he was a powerful Alpha Therianthrope, whose instincts and thoughts process were irremediably changed when he suffered the first change, and at last could get a hold of his own powers.

Rei thoughts were abruptly cut off when a rough arm passed at the side of her head and put a knife into her neck, the sudden appearance of a tall and ugly boy made her scream in surprise and fear.

Takashi was, just on that moment, smashing the tobacco machine, this place had a brand of little cigars that he had never smoked before and he was about to pick up his cigars and a lighter when the scream of Rei and the sudden smell of the assailant hit him like a train.

Fear, lust, anger, all of those emotions were like an assault on his senses, nagging and hurting his nose; he punched the wall of the shop and created a crack of two meters all over the place, snarling, he took rein of his senses and picking up the tobacco, walked outside the shop.

As soon as he exited the shop, he saw what had made Rei scream, but for Takashi, what really made him cringe, was his smell.

He was taller than her by a head, and twice broad, but there was little muscle in him, his arms were strong but the rest of his body lacked the definition of an athlete, he was a very tanned young man, dress with a purple basket shirt and green short pants with a bandana of some kind on his head.

What really called Takashi attention was the metal on his teeth; the boy had a very expensive dental work on them; and apart from that, the eyes of the boy; who were moving all over Rei breasts and him in alternate shows of fear and lust.

"Yo, bro" laughed the man, slowly pressing the knife on his left hand over Rei neck, she was struggling but the sudden cold sensation of metal over her neck stopped her before she cut her own throat.

"Nice bitch you had here!" approved the crazy boy "these are some A rank tits" he brusquely grabbed and squeezed one of the breasts of Rei who whined and protest in embarrassment for the manhandling.

Takashi didn't even react; at last physically, he was having a very hard time putting a reign in his instincts so he just not jump and tear apart the boy; in fact, he just open his new cigars, hit the button of the package on the back of his hand extracting one, and with a lazy movement, lighten the cigar and took a big inhale of the strong taste of the tobacco.

It was not bad, but he really missed his cigars, this was a good substitute until he could found his brand.

The youngster with the knife just stared at Takashi dumbfounded, and in the back of his mind, there was a nagging sensation of urgency, a primal voice that just kept screaming at him to get the fuck out of there.

The boy just walked to the bike, and with an alarming tranquility, he just opened up the plug of the fuel deposit and taking one of the hoses, start to put money on the machine, as the feminine voice of the machine advised him about security matters and how to proceed to refuel the bike.

All of it, without losing the cigar he had hanging in his mouth, don't really giving a fuck about the fire and the ashes that could bring all of them to hell, if one of the embers fall on the deposit.

Reis mind was torn.

Leaving apart that she was being groped by this ugly pig of a man, she had not expected the cold behavior of Takashi, like they were something that wasn't his problem, something irrelevant against his cigar and the refueling of the bike.

Leaving the hose inside the deposit; Takashi turned his attention to both of them with a glare that made both shivers at the ruthless and predatory glance of the boy, looking at them like they were some unexpected entertainment on a boring night.

"So...you want something?" asked Takashi taking his cigar with one hand as he inhaled some smoke into her mouth; thanks to his reinforced healing factor, any health problems from the tobacco was something that didn't really worried him.

If a zombie infection had not killed him, neither would do the tobacco.

"Oi, don't fuck with me, asshole" gritted his metallic teeth reflecting the dim lights of the gas station "pass me the keys of the bike, and get lost".

"Nah, don't think so" shrugged Takashi like it was nothing.

"I said give the fucking keys!" roared the older boy glaring at Takashi with a mad glare "I would kill you!, I would kill you like I did with pa and ma!, they became like those shits out there, I have to kill all of them..even my little brother!".

"Shitty luck, yours" simply replied Takashi taking the cigar out of his mouth and leaning on the bike.

"I would kill you like I did with them, I will carve your fucking skull..." continued the poor bastard.

In any other situation, Takashi just would have mercy on the poor fucker; he was nothing but another horror history in the middle of this zombie apocalypse; the accursed city would be flooded with that kind of stories by now, as the zombies would transform normal lives into complete horrors and nightmares.

He was not scared of the boy, and his bestial side was keeping him waiting for the chance to jump at him and rip his head off his body, no one threatened someone closer to him; even if that person had already ripped his heart from his chest and stomped on him badly; even if she was not part of the pack, Rei was important to him deep down, even the beast knew it, and in a sense Takashi knew that the beast was just trying to influence him to ride Rei until she became his bitch.

Like Saeko, Hayashi-sensei, that sexy blonde Miku and...

Takashi growled and massage his forehead, forcing the lustful thought back to the corner of his mind, he was not in the mood right now to deal with that shit; he had other worries, however, the older teenager just made a comment that made him snarl.

"I would fuck this bitch" the rant of the older boy lose all strength when Takashi snarled and with a loud and nasty sound, his three inches claws manifested in the forefingers of his right hand.

"Rei" called Takashi, exhaling the smoke of the cigar into the growing night of the city, the claws on his fingers clearly visible " this would be a perfect chance to shoot this asshole".

The girl blinked and the man who held him blinked too; during his last anger rant, he had raised his knife into the air as he was about to menace or charge at Takashi; what he failed to see was how the girl pick up a pistol from her hip and pushing it against his chest, pull the trigger shooting the little but lethal gun at point blank.

Takashi grunted from the sudden echo of the shoot in the night; for his ears it was like a thunder, and without any real care in the world, pick up the fuel hose and toss it to the floor, leaving the extra liters that he had paid with the money of the shop to flood the surface of the gas station.

Moving the bike, so the wheels would not touch the gas, Takashi came closer to Rei, who keep looking at the boy on the floor; despite the shoot at point blank range, it was not a lethal shot, instead he had a very painful bullet wound, on his left shoulder, a bleeding wound that was making him scream like a madman.

She was in shock; despite being the daughter of a policeman, and the strength of will she possessed, it was the first time, she actually shot anybody, she was a spearwoman, not a gunfighter and the blood on her hands was a very unpleasant surprise.

Those things blood was cold, nasty, she rationalized every time he bust the head of one of them; heck, even when he took the gun from the police patrol, it was cold and mostly dry but this was not it; this blood was red, warm and fresh; not to mention how the man she had shot was squirming in pain, howling and swearing a storm grabbing his wounded shoulder.

The strong arms of Takashi surrounded her, she flinched at the beginning, fearing that she would be hurt, but the arms hugged her, taking her into the chest of Takashi as he hugged and comforted her with words that she did not pick very much, but that carried worry for her well being.

Like an open dam, her tears flood, and she turn around to hide her crying face in the strong chest of Takashi, that hugged and comfort her for what she had done; even if she has done it by necessity.

Takashi had remembered how Kohta explained to him, after he almost killed one of those idiots that pester him; still didn't know exactly why; how the military officers, veterans with several kills under their belts, had to take care of those rookies that made their first kill in combat, helping them to go on with it.

Takashi was doing something similar, but with a couple of twists, first of all, Rei had not killed the boy; sure, it was a nasty wound and if he kept squirming like that he was going to die from blood loss; and on second hand Rei was not a soldier.

She was strong sure, and had a fiery temper; Takashi knew it very well; but she was not a trained professional, she was not a soldier, not a warrior, just a teenager girl, dragged into a very nasty situation, forced to made some cruel decisions and took some hard choices in the middle of this nightmare.

"Rei, he is alive" whispered Takashi to the girl, who keep embracing his chest, taking comfort and strength from the powerful boy; she sobs and slowly turn her head to see the boy laying on the floor, blood still wetting his shirt, as he gritted his teeth and swore a lot lesser loudly.

"Get to the bike, Rei" ordered Takashi to the teenager girl, slowly and gently pushing her to the machine, taking the gun out of her hands and cleaning a little of the blood on her hands "I will take care of this, move the bike out of the fuel".

Rei protested a little for being out of the arms of Takashi, she wanted to fell that again, she felt as protected as she was now, but there was no space for it, and Takashi orders were absolute, however, the tone of his voice was warm and tender, exactly like she remembered it was when they were together.

She took the bike and move it to the border of the gas station, realizing that there were dozens of those things slowly converging on the place; with an expression of surprise and fear, she called Takashi to get back into the bike soon.

Takashi knelt in front of the boy, who tried to stab him with his knife and Takashi just grab his wrist and broke it with a quick twist; the extra shout was not something that he minded; taking the falling knife with his free hand, he raised an eyebrow at how light it does seems to be and simply toss it over his shoulder to the already more than flooded floor of the gas station.

"I was going to offer you the last smoke, but fuck it; you threatened to rape one of my girls" said Takashi colder than the winter wind; not that the boy could listen clearly between the shot and the broken wrist " so, I am going to leave you here, with more than enough time for those monsters to feed on you and then, I am going to toss this cigar into the fuel of the floor".

Takashi just raised from the kneeling position and walked to the motorbike where Rei was waiting, killing a couple of the quickest of those things that got close faster than he thought, before taking the road out of the gas station.

Rei did not say a word, as she has ear part of the conversation, and when Takashi had called her one of his girls, her brain freeze not really paying attention to the rest; her heart was beating like a drum, her mind was running on a dozen different directions, all of them were interesting to say the last.

Unconsciously, she leaned on the strong and wide back of Takashi, taking comfort in the presence of the boy, hugging his waist and discretely taking discrete pleasure on the diamond-hard abs he was sporting now.

Takashi just grunted in silence, as he had a lot of thoughts to chew meanwhile he drove out of the gas station; not after tossing the cigar on the way of the gasoline and do not given a fuck about the screams of the boy Rei had shot, being devoured alive by a bunch of those things.

Not ten seconds later, the fire reach the gasoline, just in time to create a path of flames directly at the broken hose of fuel and with a sudden bust of wind, as the flames introduced themselves into the gas deposit; all the place erupted in a geyser of flames, obliterating the twenty or so zombies in the zone; among them, the recently turned teenager with a bullet in the shoulder; into a blaze of gasoline fire that soon spread to all the nearby zombies that had come; called by the boom of the explosion, the shouts of the boy and the roar of the bike.

Takashi had already got the hell out of there, as the bike has dragged them into a safety distance easily, thanks to his acceleration rate; not for nothing it was one of the best pieces of the market; however, his passenger was stunned by what has just happened in the place behind them.

She observed how the place burnt and before saying anything else, she smiled and hugged the body of Takashi strongly; she was convinced that he has done all of it for her, avenging her for what the tall teenager that has groped her had done, and in a sense, she was not mistaken.

Takashi was pondering why the fuck had he done something like that?, he could just tear the throat of the fool, in a single swipe of his claws and be done with it, but for some inexplicable reason, he had pulled that stunt out of his ass; calling the attention of half the zombies in the damn city to the gas station.

In a sense, he knew that the zombies will be incredibly distracted by the explosion and the fire that now was spreading through the area; fortunately there were not any near houses that could spread more the fire; but he was sure that several of those things were going to burn and they were stupid enough to walk around in flames until they were consumed by the flames; carrying the flames to nearby buildings..

Good thing that the electricity was still running, along with the water systems and the heating, otherwise it was going to be a reenact of the Great London Fire but in a Japanese zombie apocalypse version.

As much as he suspected, the city was a complete chaos, even when they hit the secondary roads and move onto the familiar road that he used to drive his motorbike out of the view of possible patrols; as he was still underage for a driving license; at the sides of the road there were abandoned cars and in some of them, one could saw the tumbling forms of those things; trapped on the inside of the cars and unable to open the doors unless they were lucky enough to manipulate the handle.

Takashi moved the bike in a zig-zag pattern each time they come close to one of the few things that were outside of the cars, just tumbling around, looking for the next prey to infect and consume his flesh; he didn't want to risk any lucky shot to Rei, as he could be bitten or scratched by those things if they were lucky enough.

He had not risked his life twice already for one of those things to turn her into one of them; it would be an absolute waste of young and deliciously supple womanly flesh and...

Once again, his more bestial part was trying to slip some not precisely pure thoughts in his head, about being laid as soon as possible; strangely enough, he only has thought about getting into bed with some girls that were precious to him; even if he knew and had met some very beautiful girls in the school; all of them into the Morita and Imamura list; only a few of them had called his attention beyond simple being attracted to them as any straight male would be.

Saeko was number one on that list; she made him hard just by smiling at him with those azure eyes of her, one of her smiles and he needed all his force of will to do not grab her and bang her until she was fucked senseless; and she was not the only women that he had thought that way.

Hayashi-sensei was another big one in his personal, women that he wanted to claim as his, list; her voice soothes him better than any lullaby, not to mention, redheads were a personal fetish of him, and the older woman had a body to die for, with a red mane to make it even more alluring to him.

Speaking of fetishes; it was quite a surprise for him not to thought about Marikawa-sensei in a similar way; she has been nothing but good to him and, on a more mind on gutter line of thought, those massive knockers of hers were very, very alluring for Takashi, but the mere thought of pound Marikawa-sensei like he would love to do to Saeko or Hayashi put an unpleasant sensation on him.

Not to mention Magnus, would rip his dick off if he even dared to put a hand on his woman; even if the nurse had no idea that Magnus/Plushy and Rika Minami; the nurse roommate; had been in a relationship since the days Magnus/Plushy enter in their lives.

Although, even if Marikawa-sensei was out of his reach; he would still deeply love the nurse for all the kindness she had with him, and how she did all he could to make his worst seizures as comfortable as she could, acting like the real doctor she should be.

That was something that intrigued him; why the hell did Marikawa-sensei foregone the medical university, to be the nurse of a school; as prestigious as it was; in the middle of a little town?. That made no sense, Takashi knew how knowledge the nurse was, especially after the talks she had with Doctor Morgan in the Americas, a true medical genius.

He drove into a side road and his nose picked up the familiar smell of his pack.

A thousand of emotions run through his head at that moment.

Saeko; even if she carried the smell of adrenaline and controlled fear and worry; was like a light in the middle of the night; the soft cherry of Hayashi-sensei and her voice trying to get a bunch of unknown scents into order; the soft metal and oil of Kohta, with the constant sound of his improptu gun running out of ammo and the mix of wood and hair gel that was Morita; the medicines and spring like aroma of Marikawa-sensei; the book and fruits smells of Saya; the equal to his own animal and powerful presence of Magnus/Plushy.

His pack was in danger, and Takashi felt a surge of power inside of him, a desire to kill whatever threatened them, to rip apart his enemies, to tear them into pieces and feed on their bleeding hearts; violence surge, on his body like a wave, and he noticed how he was scratching the handles of the bike with his claws and how his teeth were slowly growing bigger and into a wolf-like shape.

He turned the bike to the next exit and twirl the handle of the bike to increase the speed of the bike to the max; the roar of the engine, called the attention of all the things that filled the tunnel on where they were driving; and Takashi didn't really give a fuck, as he picked up Rei from her waist, much to the surprise of the girl and; in an amazing display of acrobatics, dexterity and strength; jumped the near ten meters that separated them from the edge of the bridge.

Takashi couldn't know it, but his body was already started to change, so when he jumped from the bike, his body has already bulged out his muscles, take out his claws and made his appearance change slightly, bigger, nastier, fangs, a little fur, strong physical features, but the most drastic change would be his eyes.

Golden, honey-colored, wolf-like eyes that irradiated power.

With Rei in his left arm, Takashi just pass over the edge of the bridge; roared in defiance at the little horde of things that had surrounded his pack, the echo of menacing growl filled the bridge, as he landed, taking the full brunt of the fall before Rei could touch floor so she would not suffer any consequence of his astonishing stunt.

In a semi-crouching position, he was a terrific image; especially when his claws and fangs are in open sight.

Leaving Rei behind, Takashi moved.

His pack was in various states of amazement, subtle fear or simply flabbergasted by his sudden appearance, not only for the roar but for the extra muscles, the claws or the fangs.

And Saeko, who was smiling widely, noticed the totally fascinating honeyed eyes Takashi had now, finding her predatory glance more than attractive to her, and she was not the only one among the females on the survivors that found this bestial Takashi roughly attractive.

"Great entrance, Bro!" laughed Morita, smashing the head of one of those undead things with a wood bat.

"Kohta, catch" growled Takashi tossing the pistol that he took from Rei with his free hand as the other was cutting the head of one of those things in ribbons.

Kohta saw the pistol coming his way and with a wicked smile caught the pistol; really, Takashi swore that Kohta´s eyes just gleam with anticipation, before he made a perfect two headshots into the heads of two of those things; Takashi, once again, fell relief of having such a sharpshooter in his pack, a skill more than useful in the middle of this zombie apocalypse.

He passed at the side of the girls and Igou, tearing apart the few that had passed through Saeko, Morita, and Kohta; despite all their efforts, the numbers were against them; winked an eye at them with a fanged smile, before he just leap along Magnus/Plushy, right in the middle of the horde; proceeding to butcher them like cattle inside of a slaughterhouse.

It took them a minute, more or less, to clear the bridge on where his pack and some survivors had appeared; Takashi was a little confused about why they were not in the bus and on their way to the next bunker or shelter or evac point of whatever the hell was the plan of the government to deal with this.

Although Takashi has to admit that he didn't really give a fuck about what the government would want, he was going to make a path into the woods and the mountains surrounding the city; if he was not mistaken there was a lot of old fortress and other refuges that he and his pack could use.

Together with Magnus/Plushy, they would be the kings of the mountain, and none of those things would ever come close to their packs unless they came by the millions, something he had not entirely dismiss; so far the universe had already taught him to be prepared for the worst that could happen.

The reunion with his pack was emotive and a little tenser than he expected; Morita, Kohta, Saya, Hayashi-sensei, Marikawa-sensei, Magnus/Plushy and surprisingly Yuuki Miku; A girl that somehow has ended with his pack; did receive him with open smiles, although they were a little taken aback from his feral appearance.

Well; not all of them, there was a glint in the eyes of Saeko and Yuuki that made something inside of Takashi throb and send a jolt to his groins; he almost jumped at them and started grinding his hips into theirs as he kissed and licked their tongues, mouths, and tits.

But he cornered those thoughts for later; it was about time that he did something about his over the roof libido, it could be dangerous, seriously dangerous in the future if he lost focus because he was too busy ogling the bodies of some of the members of his pack.

In a sense, it was time for his to choose his mate or mates; not too sure about that, his reactions to the different females around him were difficult to understand to say the last, opposed to any common sense he has been taught since he had memory.

Polygamy, or better said, getting laid with all the women you can, was something frowned upon in the Japanese society; and he didn't want something like that either, if there was no real connection with the girl, it would not even be pleasurable, at last, that was he felt, that he needed a mate, a female that could stand at his side, then the sex would be amazing.

On another order of things, he was once again covered in the blood and body pieces of those zombies, and it was starting to get really annoying at this point, it overloads his sense of smell and tact; one of them was vital for him.

It was kind of ironic how he would have sold his soul for dull his senses like this, not a year before, and now he found himself desiring them to go back to his hypersensitive state, a state on were he could detect all enemies around him in miles and know without a fault where his pack was and what was their states.

Magnus/Plushy trotted back to Marikawa sensei side, after shaking his fur of all the fresh blood he had on him, Marikawa-sensei was hugging Rei and she pet the enormous dog behind the ears, earning a tongue roll of his mouth and a furious tail waggling.

Takashi just smirked and made something similar, cleaning himself of the biggest and bloodiest chunks of flesh that had fall on him after the torn to shreds the incoming zombies that threatened his pack, after that he walked back to his pack, reuniting with them and discovering why were all they on foot, instead of the bus where he left them.

Once they told him the tale, Takashi had to clench his fist, burying the nails in the flesh of his hand to subdue his anger.

As soon as Takashi was out of the bus; Shido made a move to become the leader of the survivors, starting to talk in a sense that Saya call, " more proper than a cult leader than a teacher"; and a lot of the survivors paid attention to his words and soon, his pack found themselves trapped into the proverbial wall and sword.

There was a lot of sexual innuendos made among the threats; led by Tsunoda; the ones that were accord with Shido just wanted to fuck all the girls in the bus and start a new human race with Shido as his honored and revered leader.

It was crazy, but in the apocalypse, worst things will happen, when the humanity start to turn against each other for survival; Shindo just shot the first bullet.

Fortunately, after Kohta almost put a nail in the head of Shido; covering the scape of the rest of the pack and the survivors that decided to come with them.

They were not as numerous, their numbers were not that worrisome.

Saeko, Kohta, Saya, Morita, Marikawa-sensei, Hayashi-sensei, Igou, and Rei were the original pack, not sure about where allocate Plushy/Magnus as the older Therianthrope was there only because of the nurse bombshell.

Only one more addition, Yuuki Miku had joined his group.

The night was falling on them, and despite Takashi know that the darkness would not be a problem for him, it would be for the rest of his pack, so they need a safe house, as soon as possible, eying the surroundings, he looked out for some house that could be easily barricaded, so his pack could rest.

That was the point on where Marikawa-sensei suggested going into her friend apartment; that was just on the urbanization at the end of the bridge and they would have a lot of space to rest and pass the night, not to mention food and a big car of some kind; although what made all the females nodded in agreement, was when she talked about a spacious bathroom.

Knowing full well, that he would be lynched by the females if he ever dared to say something opposing to the bath idea, Takashi and Magnus/Plushy shared a humored snort and just led the blonde nurse lead the way, it was a little walk anyhow, as it was at half a kilometer far into the nearby urbanization.

Takashi stretched his hands, flexing the muscles and preparing the claws for the inevitable fight that would come their way, as soon as they enter the streets of the residential zone; in part he was annoyed by the sudden loss of sharpness in his senses; dulled by the blood and grime that covered his entire body like a cloak.

They soon move out, Takashi taking point with Morita and Saeko at his left and right, a little behind them Kohta had their backs covered with his pistol, even if he only had ten shots left, he was the best marksman and Takashi felt safe with his friend keeping an eye on their backs, just in case something pass through them.

Igou, Rei and Magnus/Plushy were surrounding the non-combatants, they were the few that had a semblance of combat training, and even if Yuuki and the rest had to pick up some improvised weapons, they were more a support than a real combat asset.

In a state of alertness, the group moved quickly into the streets of the residential zone, where the apartment of the friend of Marikawa-sensei lived; Takashi assumed that it was Rika Minami's apartment, the one that Magnus/Plushy had already claimed as a mate and a very good friend of Marikawa-sensei; very, very _intimate_ friend, Takashi suspected, but it was not his problem.

He loved the nurse like a big sister; a bit clumsy and airheaded big sister, but a sister nonetheless, and he would forever be grateful to her, when she helped him to endure the worst of his seizures, and how she did all in her hands to help him by contacting Doctor Morgan and giving him the recipe of the medicine that did wonders on him before the first change came.

He desired the best for the nurse, and if she was happy with Rika and Plushy, he would not say a word otherwise.

Takashi was moving on autopilot all this time; his senses alert him about when one of those things were close and then he dispatched it, quickly and brutally, not even really thinking about it.

When there was more than one, Morita and Saeko intervened and help him deal with the menace; in all the walk they had to do, Kohta only needed to shot once, killing one thing that was about to fall from a fence directly over the main group.

Soon they reach the place, and Takashi had to admit it was a very nice place, it was a two histories tall apartment, with his own metal fence and a damn Humvee parked in the garage; so this was the tank like car Marikawa-sensei was talking about, well, she was damn right about the car , being like a tank; and it was a godsend right now.

They soon clear out the place, barricading the fence, so even if they all fall sleep, none of those things would be able to slip past the defenses, something highly improbable in Takashi's opinion, but he will not leave anything to the luck, given the situation they were in.

Once inside, he had to admit it was a very nice place to take a breath after all the craziness that they had been suffering all day long, and not only speaking for him and his newfound status as Therianthrope, but at the same time, speaking about all the bloody and ruthless deeds all of them did in the past hours.

For Takashi it was not really a worrisome matter, his more beast-like side just saw all the butchery like something that it must to be done in order to survive, it made him ruthless, cruel and merciless; much like a real wolf hunting his prey would be.

But none of the other had such advantages, in fact they were nothing but teenagers, neck deep in something way out of their league; so far the presence of Hayashi-sensei and Marikawa-sensei had done wonders for the morals, as the two adults; one of them a nurse; was more or less capable of gave them reassurance and guide them to safety.

Leaving apart the crush Takashi had on the red-headed beauty of a teacher; she had done all she could to somehow make it out for the sacrifice Takashi did on the school when he saved her life from being devoured alive by a bunch of those zombies, when the door of a class suddenly opened and a dozen them burst into the halls where they were running, trying to get out of the school.

Between the two older women; well, Takashi suspected more thanks to Hayashi-sensei than the lovely but a bit air-headed Marikawa-sensei; the group soon start to take a schedule of some sort about the bath, the dinner, and the sleeping arrangements.

They were a big group, Takashi suspected it would come to bite them in the ass in the future if the things continue as they were going right now.

At some point in the future, his pack would grow bigger, as he would found more worthy possible members among the survivors that he could find during their travel among this horrid zombie world.

Takashi didn't participate in the conversation they had in the big main room on the entrance of the house, if he was around, the place would smell like a slaughterhouse and he just took some food from the fridge, and a very needed couple of bottles of water, making a beeline to the balcony, on where he could eat in peace and had a very needed cigar.

The balcony was right along the main bedroom; and Takashi took note of the big ass TV in front of the bed and the metallic wardrobe near the stairs, he was tempted to bet that it was some kind of weapons locker; for what Magnus/Plushy said about Rika, she was some kind of elite cop; not really a surprise if she had weapons on her residence.

Opening the door of the balcony, Takashi moved outside and with the hunger of an entire day, he devoured the trio of raw meat trays that he had picked from the fridge, swallowing them down with a couple of liters of cold water.

That really hit the spot for the teenager, he just tossed the garbage into the streets, hitting one of stumbling around things on the head, making him look around and smash against one of the walls of the street.

The situation could not be more humorous if it wasn't for the dozen or so survivors that were trying to do exactly like they had done, and trying to find a shelter; no matter what they have done; surrender or fought back; at the end, they were surrounded and torn apart.

However, Takashi noticed how the zombies or whatever the hell were those things; despite their initial frenzy for flesh meat, at some point; and he would have loved being able to chronometer it; they stop eating and leave the mangled piece of flesh alone.

A few seconds later, the mangled piece of flesh, join the rest in their groans and tumbles all around the street.

Takashi was relaxingly smoking a cigar, looking at the chaos in front of him and chewing a couple of theories about those things, how they attack everything in their path; even sometimes others like them, in their path for flesh, but how they did not consume completely the preys they caught.

He will have to run those thoughts by Saya later, she was way more clever than him, and could make a better analysis and hypothesis than him hands down; he would felt a lot more relieved if she could make some head or tails about all this madness.

The door of the balcony opened and the scent of Hayashi-sensei hit him like a train, she smelled divine, even under all those capes of blood, sweat, fear, and anxiety that she had blocked under a wall of a sense of duty and necessity.

"Yes, sensei?" asked Takashi without even look back "what can I do for you?".

"I, we" corrected herself, and as usual, Takashi found her voice soothing and alluring "were thinking if you would be so kind to...enlighten us about your recent changes" explained the woman, as curious as the most, but leaving the teenager the space he could need after survived a death experience twice in a day; one of them, saving her life.

Takashi stood silent for a second, toss some smoke to the night sky and turning off the cigar against the railroad, he smiled at her.

"After you sensei" bowed Takashi in mock elegance, making the older woman giggle a little for the clumsy bow.

They went down the stairs that separated the main bedroom from the main room and the kitchen, where the entire numbers of the people they rescued were waiting in little groups, resting on the couches and the carpet of the living room, eagerly waiting from him to start his tale.

Takashi eyed all of them, smiling at his pack and with the practice of whom had done it a hundred of times, took out his cigars, tap the bottom of the package against his hand, making one stand among the rest, picking it up with his white teeth and fangs and lighten it with his new lighter.

This was going to be interesting, to say the least.


	4. Run and goodnight

"Ok" took a deep inhale of his cigar Takashi " you ask, I answer as best as I can, but we would do it in order, Saya, you are possibly the most intelligent person in the room and you have been dying to interrogate me since the warehouse, so yours is the first shot".

Saya flinched a little at the memories and Takashi felt like slapping himself for being an ass.

"What are you Takashi?" she asked, possible the question that was on everybody minds.

"My kin is called Therianthropes" answered him " beyond that, no idea" shrugged the boy.

"Wait" suddenly said Hayashi-sensei " I know that word, it was in some western literature pieces, it was something about the skill to shapeshifting into animals".

"Could be" eyed discretely Takashi to Magnus for a second, but the man, still in his cover as Plushy, seemed to be more impressed by the knowledge of the redhead woman than alarmed.

"It would certainly explain a lot of things" smiled Takashi to the woman with pride "you should tell me more about those books sensei, honestly, I am as lost as everybody else about what I am now".

"It gave you diamond abs, bro" deadpanned Morita with dark humor " not sure if you should protest".

"Yeah, after years of nightmares, physical pains, traumas and not to mention my back" snorted back Takashi.

"Uh?" asked Morita " your back?".

"Feet meet mouth" grumbled Takashi under his breath, realizing what he has said, among his pack, his guard lowers and that could be very dangerous " fuck it, you will ask for it sooner or latter".

Until now, Takashi has never been entirely shirtless, covered in blood and flesh pieces? yes, broken shirt? yes, but never entirely shirtless, now he took out what remains of his jacket and show the audience what he was speaking about.

Gasps and fucks were the muffled sounds that he heard, not get him wrong, he loved his pack, but the wounds of his backs were from way past, from the first day when all of this shit started and being completely honest, he hated when people pitied him.

So far, only Marikawa-sensei knew about the scars, it was pure logic that the nurse of the school knew about such horrid marks in his body; Japan is not a tolerant country, things like that must be put out of sight, otherwise, he will cause discomfort and glares wherever he went.

"Kami" gasped Hayashi-sensei "those are old scars, very old scars".

"From when I was a kid" replied Takashi " best guess I have about them is that another Therianthrope wanted a piece of me and did this to me when I went with my parents to a camping in the forest that surrounded Tokonusu".

"Shit, bro" shook his head Morita " sorry for putting my foot into my mouth".

"No worries" smiled Takashi, " I think I have done a very good job hiding it".

"But...if you were a Therianthrope before," said Kohta not making the numbers click in his head.

"No, I was always a Therianthrope" explained Takashi " but the attack made my body and whatever made me a Therianthrope went nuts, I manifested part of my capabilities but uncontrolled and then I lost them and then they get back with a vengeance, you knew how sensitive my ears were, now I am much more focused, instead of having a planetary sized migraine, like I usually had, almost daily".

"Then they bite you" pointed out Saya deducting, somehow, the process " and when whatever made those things moved into you, whatever they did force your body to react and heal you, completely".

"I know you were clever" snorted Takashi impressed " but you are way more clever than I thought".

"Flattery will get you anywhere" smirked the pinkette.

"So, whats the deal?" asked Igou "are you some kind of werewolf now?".

Takashi just stared flabbergasted at Igou, with all the shit of the day, he had never thought about it, but it does make a horrid sense, considering his claws, fangs and physical skills.

"Uh, no idea, but that was a very accurate guess" laughed Takashi humorless " although, I can not change into any animals, nor transform into a hybrid or any other shit like that; claws, fangs, a little extra muscle; so far that's all the package".

The words of Igou had the ring of truth, the beast inside of him was akin to a wolf, his desires, his instincts, everything on him screamed wolf, but at the same time, he was not even close to the level of Magnus, who could shapeshift into something akin to a very big dog, not a wolf.

That means that he could transform into other animals like ravens or swans if he wanted? that would be cool but something inside of him just pointed out that he was a predator, claws, and teeth, that was the rule, nothing of horns or feathers unless it was a predator too.

Odd, but with his powers, all was a curve of learning, most of the time, the nastiest curveball he could ever dream off, not to mention he had yet felt like the time were the red mist of rage took control of his body, just like it happened when he rescued Saya from those mercenaries that were trying to kidnap her or more recently when he was bitten and then see all red and clean up and entire floor of the school with his bare claws.

"But you are immune to their bite" pointed out Yuuki a bit amazed for how the boy seems to be invulnerable or at last incredible impervious to damage "otherwise you would not be with us now, but lazing around and moaning like the rest over there".

"Not entirely sure" admitted Takashi, with his cigar back in his mouth " I think is something along the lines of being resistant more than immune, like those people that inject themselves with snake venom so they could resist it or those people who are capable of surviving a lethal illness because they had a very strong immune system...err, I am not that clever, Marikawa-sensei, could you explain it better?" pass the ball to the blonde bombshell who blinked in surprise for suddenly being in the spotlight.

"Well" blushed the nurse, not accustomed to being the target of all the stares, but the soft lick on her hand of Plushy and how he nuzzled his snout against her leg made her smile and took strength from the supportive dog.

" _You sly dog"_ snorted Takashi in the safety on his mind, the last thing he needed now was to antagonize the older Therianthrope by busting his cover as Marikawa-senseis pet.

"It is true that the exposition to specific poisons was a method that some snake breeders and explorers took when they travel jungles and other terrains with those same serpents or snakes with similar poisons" started to explain the nurse " however is a painful and slow process that required of them to inject themselves with very diluted versions of the poisons and is practically impossible to make oneself immune to all snake poisons or any other kind of poisons".

"It ´s not that different from a vaccine, actually but a bit more complex and specific" smiled shrugging.

She frowned and tapped her lips for a second like she was trying to remember something, the rest of the present just let the surprisingly knowledgeable nurse recall from her memories, she was way better doctor that the people gave her credit for; in Takashi's case, he would trust the nurse with his life, in a heartbeat, and without regrets.

Blame such loyalty on his more bestial side, if you are good with me, I am good with you, kind of thought.

"Your condition seems to be more the second case, your immune system is just that good" said her with a smile "usually, humans had an adaptive immune systems, once a pathogen had entered the body, the body fought back with a diverse variety of cells, Lymphocytes, Gamma delta T cells, antibodies; they phagocyte the pathogen or broke its cellular membrane; after the infection is vanquished, the body stores the memory of the pathogen, so if it is infected again, it already had a quick response against the infection" resumed pretty quickly how it worked.

"But you are different" pointer her to him with a raised finger and an adorably focused expression on her face " your immune system is a mix of innate and adaptive, the former present in most animals and the latter in Gnathostomata; once your body is exposed to a pathogen it reacted with full force, possibly you have an overwhelming recount of NK cells, capable of erasing any cells that lacked histocompatibility with your unique system and after that created a long-term resistance or immunity".

"Sorry Komuro-kun I can not say for sure if you are immune or resistant, unless we subject you to a lot of medical tests" cutely muttered a little abashed, despite the shit ton of information that she had poured on all of them

Suddenly Morita was on his knees in front of the busty teacher, comical tears falling down his eyes.

"Sensei, for the love of Kami, couldn't you just say that he had a freaking healing factor like a bloody superhero!?, I swear my brain hurts with that many complex words" whined the boy in praying position to the blonde woman that was openly chuckling, incredibly amused by the boy's antics.

The group laughed openly at the words of the boy, the lot of them were as lost as the blonde Mohawk boy, possibly except Saya or Hayashi-sensei, none of them had entirely got all the explanations of Marikawa-sensei but she was back on her bubbly and airhead persona.

"So, better do not get bitten a lot or I will overload my immune system and finally turn into one of them" resumed Takashi the worst case scenario " pretty much what I was expecting, I could be strong but I am far from invulnerable, I fear that a bullet to the head would put me down as fast as anybody else".

In the back, Plushy snorted and muzzle his cold snout against Marikawa-senseis cheek, eliciting a giggle and a protest of the blonde nurse.

" _Silence you dammed monster"_ protested Takashi silently, taking another smoke from his cigar _" I am not a fucking old Therianthrope with centuries of practice you know?"._

"Well, good to know you are still among mortals" joked Igou at the back of the group, his ankle was being bandaged as the constant activity for the day did little favor for his recovery.

Saeko send a frosty glare at the back of the martial artist, she recognized what Takashi was doing, by appearing humble and a lot less powerful than he really was, he would make himself close to the rest of the survivor band, even a monster would need company at some point.

And in the back side of her mind, Saeko listened to a voice that suggested that she would gladly provide such company and much more, the boy had fascinating golden eyes that she had ever seen and when he was tearing apart _Them_ , the glint in the corner of those eyes was a mirror of her own.

The secret thirst for violence, that she kept buried under her soft and gentle facade, the maniac rush that she had when her weapon took another of those things down, she would love to cut, to mangle, this apocalypse was exactly what she deeply desired, an excuse to let any inhibitions lose and drown herself in the pleasure of the battle.

Takashi was like her, but he had claws and teeth instead of the need for sharp blades, she wanted to pout a little, it was almost unfair but she had to admit that she loved her swords, even if for the moment she could only use a bokken, speaking of which, that piece of wood was nearly the limit of his resilience.

"I'm far from being immortal" snorted Takashi with a short laugh " fuck, you saw how mangled they left me at the time when we made a run for the bus, if they fall on my in suffice numbers, I will be dog chow...oh, that pun, that pun" facepalmed himself Takashi at the timid laughs of the rest of the survivors.

"Well, I just glad that you had our backs" shrugged Kohta with a friendly smile and his gun, safe on, in his hands, with the cannon down so he would never hurt any of them "despite all the madness we are enduring its good to know we had our personal, uh? wereangel?".

"Kohta," said Takashi almost choking in his cigar after that last remark "please, none of more puns like that, enough horrible are mine to add yours to the mix, we could star a comedic T.V show".

"Its good to see you in such high spirits boys" smiled the redhead professor "but, please Komuro-Kun, be honest with us, how are you really hanging all this madness?" asked the professor looking at his eyes.

"That's unfair sensei," said bashfully Takashi, almost shrinking under the warm glare of his sound crush, as Saya liked to call the older woman.

"Please tell us" joined Saeko to the pledge and Takashi grumbled in his mind, they were teaming up against him, that was unfair, he couldn't defend himself against that.

" _By all that is sacred, please never use puppy dog eyes against me"_ shuddered Takashi _" I will be wrapped around their fingers in less than a heartbeat"._

"Its a work in progress" confessed Takashi raising his hand and releasing his two inches long, steel hard nails or claws would be the most appropriate "I am still learning, the hard way, what on earth I am, what can I do, and how to control it as much as I could".

"And your mind?" nailed it in the head Yuuki Miku " body and mind, Komuro-Kun, how are you enduring this little horror we are suffering?" hugged herself Yuuki, suppressing the memories of the eyes of Tsunoda and Shindo all over her body.

She was a very attractive girl, yes, and she was way more flirty than she should, especially with the bad luck streak she has had with men, but one thing was to be flirty, and she openly admitted that she loved to flirt and tease around, and another completely different thing, was to be the cum dumpster that those two fuckers in the bus believed she was or wanted to turn her into.

"I am...surprisingly cool with all this" confessed Takashi again and he noticed the flinch of Rei in the back, as she was not getting closer to Igou but keeping a distance from practically everyone, listening to the boy attentively.

"I don't know how, why or if I am just suppressing it until it hit me like a train" let go Takashi some of the smoke of his cigar "but for the moment, I will enjoy the ride for what is worth".

"Well, you can always come at me for some... _relaxation_ of such stressful days, considering how _big_ your stamina could be now, you will need some _release_ " winked Yuuki licking her lips and looking at his abs.

"Uh, sure, one of this days" stiffened Takashi not sure how to face the music when the sex or even the suggestion of it was involved in a conversation.

Saeko eyed the back of the head of Yuuki with a glare that would have freeze hell, and Hayashi-sensei looked in disapproval to the younger girl, neither of them wanted to admit how in denial they were about how bad they had it for the young Therianthrope.

"You are colder now Takashi" said suddenly Rei, looking at him with dozens of emotions running in her beautiful eyes " I hear what you said to that pig at the station..." she slowly low her voice, not entirely sure about what to say next, as her emotions were running rampant in a dozen directions.

"Ah, that" nodded Takashi without changing his expression even if he was swearing a storm in his mind " well, you were impressive there Rei, you get rid of that bastard on your own, I only had to be a witness of his final moments" shrugged the boy like it was nothing.

"Unfortunately, he was another tragic history in this nightmare we are neck deep into" said Takashi in a resigned tone " despite I can understand and pity the poor bastard" bullshit, his bestial part wanted to tear him apart just because he dared to challenge him "his, yours, me, all of our histories are very similar, we just wanted to survive at all cost, and that will have a very stiff cost".

The words of Takashi send a shiver through their spines, it was not only the content but the tone of the speech of the boy, a tone that lefts nothing for discussion, this was not up for debate, even if he was not noticing it, Takashi was acting and exuding the aura of an Alpha; a kind and humble alpha, at last with his pack; his words are laws, as simple as that.

And a few of the girls had to discretely control her blushes or squabble a little to hide the interesting effect that the attitude of the boy has had on their nether regions.

Takashi confused the image and with an embarrassed expression and scratching the back of his head, he just realized how much he had to stink right now, between the putrid flesh of _Them_ and the blood that practically covered him entirely.

"Sorry," he said "I didn't remember that I am covered in grim and blood" smiled embarrassedly Takashi " I will be on the balcony until the bath is free".

The boy smiled at all of them and got back to the balcony, taking a seat in the open space, to let his cigar smoke went up of the clear sky.

It has gone better than Takashi expected.

There were rough spots, as he suspected like when he explained that his hypersensitivity was nothing but his body trying to cope up with the wondrous wound that he had on his back, a wound, that none of them had ever seen until now, and as soon as he could show them, he could sense how the more empathic among the crowd winced.

He could understand, his wound was a very ugly marrow on his back; in a society like the Japanese, this kind of physical marks were very frowned upon, unless you took a lot of effort to cover it, much like Takashi had done all his life, even with those that were closest to him.

It was something that he hated, but now, it was a mark of honor, a symbol of how he survived against impossible odds and triumph, even if he was a child that only could remember it in his nightmares; nonetheless, it was a very impressive image and one that Marikawa-sensei explained that should be impossible to survive as a child.

Therianthropes are made of hard stuff, and considering that he was even a stronger specimen of the usual, it was no surprise to him actually, the doctor that attend him when he was a child, already got that clear, he should have died that day, and yet, he survived and in due time, prospered.

The part that was more uphill for everyone was his now inhuman physical progress; heck, he even barely could believe it, but he knew that he was barely scratching the surface, that in time, he could achieve impossible feats, as he grows older and stronger in his powers.

It was akin to a martial artist, he had to train to improvise further his body and technique, however, he would not have the same limits as any human martial artist, as he was not entirely human right now.

And speaking about physical changes, Takashi really skip a beat or two when Yuuki; once again making her reputation of a shameless flirt grow; asked how much has his stamina and "it" grow, she asked with a glare that made the beast inside of Takashi start to drool at the idea of getting her bend over and fuck her silly in a doggy style position until she submitted to him.

He had to admit it, Yuuki had got him with that one, and he needed a couple of seconds to recover from the sudden and suggestive question, the gorgeous teenager had to ask.

On a more personal note, he couldn't but made some comparison between the women that had caught his fancy in a biblical way; namely, Saeko, Hayashi-sensei, Rei; although this one was lost to him now; this recently incorporation to his survivor group Yuuki Miku; even if he has met her personally for less than a day, Takashi had to admit that she was one hot piece of ass.

Three girls his age, and an older woman.

Morita and Imamura; the latter dead at the hands of those things; would be already putting two thumbs up for him for such high marks, even if he knew that Saeko; and if his nose didn't lie, Hayashi-sensei and Yuuki too; was attracted to him, not really sure why or what he could have done to call the attention of the disciplined girl but the attraction was mutual.

Like it or not, Takashi could never block the scent of Saeko, he knows where she is and sometimes, could catch a sniff of the emotional state of the girl, right now a relaxing and a bit shocked sweat and tense anxiety, as he was telling them what he supposedly was.

Once the tale was over, Takashi had already got back to his spot in the balcony, and noticing how he was starting to get a little short of tobacco, he sighed and put the cigars and the lighter on his jacket, he would smoke then later, when he could take a bath and get rid of all the dry blood he had on him and that was starting to really annoy his sense of smell.

There were questions, no doubt; after all, Takashi has told them that he was something akin to a werewolf of the legends and he was resistant or immune to whatever the hell had caused the dead to come back to life.

He quickly commented Saya about the possibility of a virus, transmitting from host to host instead of just killing it outright, and be done with it, as most viruses of the world seem to function.

Influenza, the Plague, Ebola, all those viruses are deadly, so much was true, but none of them reanimated the corpse and made it go around stumbling until they found a healthy host to infect.

Saya look at Takashi frowning, like she usually did when she was lost in deep thought, and Takashi just left her pondering whatever she could be thinking, Saya was 33%Tsun, 33%temper and 33% cockiness for a 99% percent genius with a 1% percent dere, if you get her in a good mood.

Takashi loved the pinkette girl like a sister, she has been always there for him; but the event of the kidnapping had put a shadow of fear and uncertainty on her that Takashi hated, and he was the one that dispatched the mercenaries in a lot of bloody imaginative ways; some of them were way too much in his opinion, but there was a red mist on that part of his memory, only the consequences left after he ended all of them.

Another of the little things on his plate.

He was a murderer, like it or not, he had taken human lives; even if he had all the rights of the world to claim fucking vengeance on the asses of the mercenaries that run a van over him and after that, emptied half a dozen of bullet clips on his body.

His parents had done all they could to support him, but the blood in his hands was a sign that his human part abhorred and his bestial part just shrugged like it was your everyday routine; it was a fascinating dichotomy that only made him want a cost-size painkiller to deal with a headache.

Still, all those thoughts had been put apart by the needs of his pack.

They wanted him strong, they need him to be a pillar of strength and confidence on where they could lean and endure the hardships of this apocalypse; that is the burden of the Alpha, and Takashi, as much as he hated to be leader of nothing, had the strength and the willpower to be the leader they need.

Not to mention, he was starting to realize how much of a pack they were now, even with the newcomer.

Well, in this world it was a good thing, to actually had a pack, a group of people that would fight alongside against whatever this thing would throw at them.

Speaking of his pack, after the end of his tale, he left them on the main room, getting back into the balcony so he would not stink the place with the blood and dirty he had all over his body; as the women had already declared that they were going to take a very needed bath, he would patiently wait for his turn and clean off all the shit on him.

He was tempted to actually made a run to the river and clean himself there, but as all the inside rivers of the cities, it had a lot of garbage floating on it, despite all the good cleaning regulations that the town hall imposed, he was sure that near the mountains or near the coast, he would find clean waters on where to bath.

With his enhanced hearing, he could pick up the conversation the women were having in the bathroom, and in a conscious act of self-defense, he tuned them out.

The girls had taken turns and on the first turn, Hayashi-sensei, Yuuki, and Saeko entered into the bathroom; the sounds of water splashing the young and nubile bodies of the teenagers and the solid and voluptuous curves of the sensei was something that was making Takashi's pants a little too tight.

And then Yuuki start to wonder how big his little wolf was, and if he was single.

As it has been said, Takashi had already big enough problems as it was controlling his libido, having an attractive and shameless girl as Yuuki constantly proving his defenses was the perfect recipe for bending her over the table and made love to her, in ways that would leave professional pornstars like amateurs.

If Hayashi-sensei and Saeko wanted to join the fun, he would be more than delighted to turn them into quivering and fucked silly messes.

Takashi shook his head, a little embarrassed by his own perverted thoughts, he liked how the females seem to be so pleased with his physical appearance, no, really, he loved it.

On the other hand, Takashi was still a virgin at heart, the crazy night on where he lost his virginity didn't count, as he could not even remember shit of that night; it was all under a haze, he blamed the drugs he took that night, it would be the last time he ever touch anything related to recreational drugs.

Tobacco and his herbal medicine were fine; he needed them; any other substance was off limits,still, he was a little curious about how would his body handle a copious amount of alcohol or a marihuana cigar; after the explanation that Marikawa-sensei gave to them about how could possibly work his healing factor, he pondered about the possibility that his body would treat alcohol as poisons, quickly erasing them.

Takashi was far from being an authority on biology, so far his best subjects were mechanics and literature; and the latter comes as consequence of being alone for long periods of time and his not so secret crush on the red-haired sensei that was bathing right now, just a meter or two under him; but he had the nagging sensation that being drunk was going to be quite the challenge in his new status as Therianthrope.

He was not sure about considering that a bless or a curse.

It was the second turn in the bathroom...Takashi just knew it, even separated and with a cigar in his mouth, he could tell who was in the bath just by the smell and the sounds

Saya, Rei, and Marikawa-sensei entered in the bathroom and once again, Takashi tune it out, he would not imagine Saya or sensei naked, soap and water slipping over their athletic and toned bodies, making small ponds on their gorgeous cleavages and magnificent ass checks and...

Takashi smashed his head against the metal rail of the balcony and grunted, his cock was already started to twitch painfully in his semi-erect state, at this rate, it was going to burst the only pants he had.

Somehow, he doubted any clothes Magnus could have around would suit him, the man was an eight foot giant with a body that would make a professional quarterback look like a wimp.

Takashi was ripped now, with the kind of body that professional athletes could only dream off, all thanks to his Therianthrope blood, that had turned him into some kind of superhuman hybrid of human and beast; if, the claws and the fangs, along with his eyes, were an indicator.

He was eager to see if he could change shapes like Magnus/Plushy does, he made it look easy as pie, but Takashi was not entirely convinced, he suspected it would take him years of practice, not to mention that he had no idea about how to move in four legs.

He was a bipedal mammal, suddenly developing the body of a wolf, or a dog or a fox whatever the case it could be, it was going to be a pain in the ass; although his bestial side did not seem to be as worried as him.

However, his bestial side was completely obsessed with getting laid, with as many women as possible, as many times as possible.

If it weren't for the fact that it was half moon, Takashi would start to believe in the legends about the full moon and the werewolves and all that crap, Magnus/Plushy had already cleared those misconceptions with him, Therianthropes are the source of those legends, not the other way around.

A sudden change in the air called him out of his thoughts, as Kohta and Morita open the balcony room; Igou was sat on the bed, adjusting the bandage he had on his ankle, it has been a very bad strain and Marikawa-sensei suspected he had perhaps torn some muscles or ligaments.

Of course, without an X-ray machine, they were all conjectures, but the pained face of Igou spoke volumes of much it hurt at the beginning of the day, with some hours of repose and a compress of ice and some painkillers, he would be back in action by the morning.

Or so hoped the nurse, carrying Igou around was something that Takashi didn't expect, at last, they had a vehicle, a very solid vehicle, that would carry them with easiness, even if they loot the flat of Rika-san and took everything that could be remotely useful.

Although they were perhaps too many people even for the tank-like vehicle, perhaps he could find another vehicle, after all, he was the only one among them that could move around all this nightmare without to worry about infection; even in the worst cases, he could just run along the car.

Takashi was not being overconfident, the last thing he wanted right now was to have pieces of his body chunk by rotten things like those that walk around the house, and he was conscious that he could be resistant, Not immune; there was a very big difference between those two.

"How is it hanging, bro?" saluted Morita with his unique style, making Takashi smile.

Morita was one of the few that had taken his newfound status as Therianthrope in stride, in fact, he was saying it was cool as hell, and where he could get some.

That made him laugh, although he took good note to ask about it later to Magnus/Plushy, the older Therianthrope could possibly have an answer for it, something that could lead him to increase his pack, just the mere idea of Saeko with his same physical capabilities will make their possibilities of survival all this zombie apocalypse went through the roof.

"As good as one could expect" snorted Takashi who give a nod of thanks to Kohta.

The chubby boy gave him a very nice cold bottle of water.

The boys had been confined into the upper room as the girls bathed, just in case any of they had the temptation of peeking; Takashi had listened to some of the conversations they have had on the bathroom, and has serious doubts about on what room really were the perverts.

Taking a long gulp from the bottle, Takashi cleaned his lips with the torn sleeve of his jacket, he was dress in what could only be called rags, but there was no other option for him for the moment.

Kohta and Morita took a seat on the floor of the balcony, even from the distance, the echoes of the chaos on the bridge reach even there, at kilometers of distance.

"Takashi would you help us with something?" asked Kohta looking at the room behind them, concretely to a metal locker in front of the bedroom.

"Weapons" deducted Takashi in an instant, and he saw his suspicions confirmed in the embarrassed look of Kohta and the sheepish scratch of his neck by Morita.

"Sure, why not?" raised from the floor Takashi, putting the empty bottle in the floor, he was grateful for a distraction from the sounds of the bath, soon he could bath at peace, and now that Takashi thought about it...

"Ey, how come you are clean?" raised an eyebrow, grabbing the door of the locker and with one single pull, rip the metal door from its hinges, like it was just wet paper.

"All our hard work" muttered Morita suddenly depressed, as Igou just chuckled; he has been a witness of how the two boys tried to open the door with a crowbar with little success.

"There is a shower in there...oh, fuck yes!, this is what I was talking about" pointed Kohta to a little door in the corner of the room, leading to a tiny bathroom, before his expression changed to a very wicked grim and jump at the weapons inside the metal cabinet, going all otaku mode over the arsenal.

Takashi loudly swore, making the other boys chuckled.

Takashi was so focused in tune off the sounds of the bathroom and from the girls giggles and comments, that had lost everything that has been happening around; sighing to himself, Takashi let Kohta droll over the guns, as he and Morita start to categorize and perform maintenance on the weapons, under the orders of Kohta.

Takashi smiled weakly, he knew how Kohta had trained with real weapons, he has already told him about his time with the Delta Force trainer from Blackwatch and Takashi was happy for the chubby boy, he had found something that he excelled at, and Takashi was more than happy of having a marksman like him among his pack.

"Ah, hell" snorted Takashi leaving Kohta to take care of the guns "I will take a bath later" he simply shrugged and licked his lips, even after the meat and the water, he still felt a little thirsty and hungry.

He got down the stairs to the main floor of the building, repairing of how Plushy/Magnus was playing around with Marikawa-Sensei, still, there was something on the smell of the woman that made him raise an eyebrow, not a second later, when he recognized the smell, he just chuckled.

Saya and Rei were slumbering on the couches of the dining room, with a dozen or so of, empty beer cans loitering the ground, Marikawa-sensei was drunk and she wanted to hug her plushy, a very clean Plushy.

Takashi and Magnus/Plushy shared a look and Takashi snorted in amusement, lucky bastard, he has been bathed by the blonde nurse, meanwhile, Takashi was doing all he could to tune out the sounds of a lot of women bathing themselves and talking about how big was his cock.

It was not fair.

Plushy/Magnus just stared at him, and Takashi raised an eyebrow, what was the old dog looking at? it was something just behind him.

Turning his head to where the dog was looking, the expression of Takashi slowly changed from curiosity to complete astonishment.

What his conscious mind could make about the picture; before his inner beast started drolling and banging the doors of his brain, demanding romping, long and hardcore romping; was:

Saeko: Illegally tight white apron+black thong.

Hayashi-sensei: Damped red mane+ waist towel

Yuuki Miku: Just a towel over her shoulders.

Takashi's brain suffered a reboot; not found.

There was an awkward silence in the room, only the fires of the kitchen and the boiling of the ingredients inside the pots produced any sound, until the giggling voice of the blonde nurse in the back, snapped them out of their trances, however, they still were frozen and practically all of them, sporting a massive blush on their faces.

Saeko was fiercely eying Takashi, who was dressed with nothing but his ragged pants and his semi-erect cock was making a bulge in his pants impossible not to see, she was not especially conscious about her almost naked status, neither the demolishing effect her apron+thong combo produced on the poor boy.

Hayashi-sensei, on the other hand, was blushing a storm, she was the adult here, and despite she no longer being a virgin, she couldn't but feel conflicted about how attractive was the perfect boy in front of her; he was exactly the response of all her wet dreams made flesh, but he was almost a decade older than the boy, not to mention she was her teacher, not half a day before, and that still weighted in her mind.

Yuuki by her part, was drooling at the sight of the half-naked stud in front of her, she was a promiscuous girl, so much was absolutely true, but that doesn't mean she was a cheap whore that spread her legs for all the males around, she was exceptionally picky about her males, however, right now, she could only ogle the supreme A+ grade meat in front of her.

On the other side of the room, Takashi just stared at them, his brain having a royal rumble about lust and responsibility, neither of them wanting to fall back from the gorgeous picture in front of him.

Three absolutely beautiful women barely dressed and still a little wet from the recent bath, three goddesses standing in all their glory in front of his eyes.

That is something that doesn't happen every day and his hormones were having a field day with all of this.

His cock throbbed, really painfully, wanting to be out of the ragged jeans that constricted it, Takashi would have covered her ten inches half erect cock, but he was frozen, unable to do anything but stare mouth agape at the three beauties in front of him.

Yuuki was the one that recovered first and with a sway of her hips, smiled at Takashi.

"See something you like, Ko-mu-ro-Kun?" purred the orange haired girl " I certainly do" widened her smile, slowly downing her gaze to the crotch of Takashi.

Takashi snapped out of his trance, and covered his crotch with his hands, mumbling apologies as he blushed deeply for the boldness of the curvy girl who was teasing him relentlessly.

"Oh, don't apologize, you are some serious eye candy too," said Yuuki, getting closer to him, so he could smell her arousing scent and appreciate all the curves of her body in full detail.

When she was close enough, she passed her hands over his biceps of steel with soft and approving hum in her lips. "Oh, perfect muscles too, oh, boy, you and I are going to had some delicious fun later".

The sound of a knife piercing through a hard surface, called the attention of both of them, turning their heads they saw how Saeko has buried a kitchen knife through the chopping board and was sweetly smiling at them like it was nothing.

 _"Scary and hot as hell,"_ thought Takashi _" there is something seriously wrong with me"_ he lamented in his own mind.

"Yuuki-san" called the sensei with a stern glare to the half-naked girl " please have some decency and stop teasing Komuro-kun" his words would have more effect, if she weren't blushing a storm too and covered only with a towel, surrounding her hips, with her red hair covering her bountiful breasts.

"Whoaa" whistled Yuuki raising her hands in peaceful sign, turning his head back to Takashi, she smirked " well, aren't you popular Komuro-kun?" chuckled the girl at the reaction of the other two women.

Yuuki was not stupid, she knew perfectly well who takes to her bed, she was very careful about who does she have a relationship with and what were the limits.

That fiasco with Tsunoda did not count, he had a great body but that was it, he was an absolute jerk of the highest order, her past choices in men had been very bad, she could admit that, but she couldn't be always right, sometimes she took risks and won a big reward and another she made a big mistake.

She was a teenager, hormones and stupid decisions came with the package.

She left the bus group with serious doubts, but after the few hours she has been with this group, she has discovered that the alpha male was Komuro; not only for his supernatural powers but because everybody around seems to trust completely on the feral boy.

Being as flirty and promiscuous as she was, Yuuki was a very good judge of character; it was a necessity, so she would not end bedding a jerk like Tsunoda again.

Just a few hours and she already deducted that the gorgeous boy was absolutely perfect, oh, there was the violence and rage that he has displayed against those zombies, but if he was as monstrous as he likes to believe he was, he would not have stiffened like an iron bar when she teased him during the explanation about what he was now.

Monsters don't care about anyone except their own well being and desires; Komuro was the exact opposite, he was taking the burden of keeping all of them alive and well.

In the middle of this chaos, he jumped, without hesitation, into a horde of those things, to save them all, and still had the time to make sure that they were alright.

Monster? her sweet ass.

Komuro could have issues, as every teenager in the world would have, but for Yuuki, he was absolutely perfect, the biggest, baddest boy she could ever dream for, packed with an anaconda in his pants and with a tender side that granted that any female in his arms would be pampered like a queen.

In resume, he was the complete package, in a Tarzan or Werewolf sort of theme.

She could buy that, just shut up and take her money, she was going to bag the boy and ravish him for as long as she could.

Although, there was the little issue of the other two women who had the hots for the boy.

Yuuki was not blind to the body language of Hayashi-sensei and Busujima, they had the hots for the boy, and she knew that it could lead to a very awkward or directly violent situation if she did not play her cards right. She wanted to live, not to fuck a group that was very good for her just because she needed to scratch an itch.

This group was the one that had the biggest chances of survival, and not only because the hottest guardian angel she could dream off protecting them, but because they had a lot of useful skills, they were united and were a lot more resourceful than any of the other idiots of the bus.

She could live without the sex, she loved the sex, so much was true, but the cult/orgy that Shido was preaching did not sit well with her; she was in control, not the other way around, she was nobodies harlot or bitch, and Shido and Tsunoda only saw her as a convenient cockwarmer in the middle of the apocalypse.

That was a sensation that she has not feel around this people, sure, she has caught Morita ogling her more than once but instead of just another piece of meat, Morita has treated her like she was one more of the group, that was a nice change of pace for her, something that she was not accustomed at all.

Her father abandoned her, her mother was an alcoholic that was barely at home; not precisely the best environment; and even in the middle of the apocalypse, she was grateful for the kindness and protection this group had offered to her, a total stud like Takashi was a very nice bonus.

Oh, she would had no problem in sharing the boy, considering what she had seen, his stamina is going to be inhuman; and she alone could be insufficient to quell all the urges of the boy, even if she was pretty much sure she was the most experienced of the trio of women after the affections of the boy.

Busujima was an Ice queen, Yuuki could admit that she was a beauty, equal to any supermodel out there, but in the bed she surely was inexperienced, her feminine instincts, however, tell her that the samurai girl would be as frisky as hell once her switch was turned on, seeing the maniacal grin she sported when she was dealing with the zombies, Yuuki feared that she was going to be a total tigress in the bed.

Hayashi-sensei, ok, she was an adult, and had a very nice body, with a bigger rack than the other girls; not on the same league that the titty monster, Aka Marikawa-sensei; and it was clear that Takashi had a crush on her, but Yuuki could saw the dissatisfaction that permeated her during the days before all this mess, she was only happy when she was teaching to Takashi's class.

The tricky part of all this was how to broke the news to the other two, she didn't want to appear like a cheap slut, it would only diminish any respect he could have in the group, not to mention how she was sure that the other two would oppose to the idea at the beginning.

Once they had a taste of the stamina of the boy, they would sing a different tune.

It happened to her before.

She was on a travel to Okinawa and managed to seduce a young black soldier from the near military base, he was a boxing promise, she took her to a love hotel after a very fun night and then, they had hard and rough sex all the night long; at the next day, she hated her vagina with a passion, unable to even walk without felling her legs like they were jelly.

Takashi was several leagues over that boy, Yuuki knew it, so perhaps it was a matter of playing the patience game, and at the same time, she makes sure that Takashi never misses how interested she was in jumping his bones.

Before she could continue teasing the boy and slowly cementing the idea of sharing him with the other two, the voice of Morita appeared in the top of the stairs.

"Yo, Takashi!" called the boy appearing in the middle of the stairs " we had a situation outs...Oh, dear Kami!" his eyes widened, a little trail of blood start to leak down his nose as he stared dumbfounded at the sight in front of him, this was one of his fantasies made flesh.

Bloody Apocalypse, be damned, this was heaven for the hormonal boy, who just smiled with a big blush on his face.

Takashi sighed, thanking all the heavens for the distraction, as he was two steps to close to simply drag all of the women to a room and made the scream his name to the heavens; that will be wrong, that will be incredibly wrong and he would never disrespect any of them like that.

Even if he was about to sport a monstrous erection capable off piercing steel doors.

"Excuse me" bowed slightly to the women and went up the stairs, dragging Morita with him, as the boy was still in Lalaland "mind out of the gutter, bro" chuckled Takashi.

Morita shook his head, but keep smiling like an idiot.

"Oh Kami, I'm so glad to be alive" muttered the boy and Takashi laughed softly, he could totally relate to his friend, if it weren't for the interruption, he would have done something that he would have regretted deeply...or perhaps not, Yuuki did not seems to be precisely opposing to the idea.

Takashi suddenly listened to the muffled sounds of a weapon and immediately got up the stairs.

When the boy got out of the sight of the trio of women, Yuuki looked at the other two with an amused smirk on her lips.

"I think we should have a little chat about our wolfish guardian angel," said to the other two women, all playfulness and fun out of her voice.

Once Takashi reach the top of the stairs, consciously blocking whatever sounds come from under him, he found himself looking to a serious-faced Igou that was looking on the TV, how a policeman put a bullet on the head of a conspiracy freak, as he kept shouting about some kind of USA Bio-weapon gone wrong or something.

"What on earth?" asked Takashi looking at the TV dumbfounded.

"Its happening, right now, on the bridge" explained Igou pointing to the lights outside of the window, a bunch of kilometers away from the house that they were occupying at the moment.

"Bio-weapon?, what the fuck?" shook his head Takashi.

The sound of the gun of Kohta, muffled by the silencer he has put on the canon of the gun, make him turn his attention to the boy outside, who was taking aim with his weapon, some kind of assault rifle, he was sure later he will explain in more detail what it was.

Exiting to the balcony of the house, Takashi looked at the chubby boy shooting at something in the distance, and following his gaze, he discovered what has forced the hand of Kohta.

Cursing loudly, broking Kohtas concentration, Takashi reunited with him in the edge of the balcony, looking at the scene at the other side of the street.

Takashi had perfect night vision, not to mention an improvised eyesight, so he could see in perfect detail how a man carrying a young girl, was stabbed in the chest and left to die along the little girl, in the entrance yard of a house where the ones that had stabbed were sheltering themselves.

Takashi was pissed, scratch that, he was furious, not only for how they had left to die a seven years old girl, but how they have done it after they stabbed her father in the chest in front of her face.

The girl was crying her heart out, as a valiant but useless puppy of black and white fur, barked to the zombies, trying to defend the little girl from the ones that were trying to pass the metallic fence of the house yard.

"Motherfuckers!" swore Takashi and put a hand over Kohta´s shoulder.

"Cover me, I'm going in" simply stated Takashi and Kohta smiled widely at him.

"Yes, sir!" replied Kohta taking aim and volatilizing another head with a perfect shot.

They couldn't save all the survivors, fuck, they not even sure if they could save themselves, but letting a child die like that was against their very souls, specially Takashi's, a pup should not be left to die like that, not without a single chance of survival, his beast was already growling inside of him, pumping his muscles, enhancing his senses and reactions.

It would only add more fuel to an already blazing inferno, especially considering the fact that Takashi knew both, the dead man and the little girl.

The Maresato were among the few people that treat him with normalcy, Takashi meet the family after his impossible night, the one on where he tried hard drugs and everything faded to black until he awoke in a cell in the police district with all the usual suspects keeping a distance from him.

Maresato-san was sniffing for some news, as he was a reporter, and found the confused and frankly, bewildered Takashi, the older man invited the lost child to a hot coffee and listened to his history, he would never publish it, but the tale of the wild night was worthy of being listened.

As a form of paying the favor, Takashi took care of Alice each time their parents were too busy with their careers and jobs to pay the attention her daughter needed; bringing her to school, playing with her in the park, seeing her favorite TV shows with her, that kind of things. Basically, he babysitted the little girl, simply because he felt that he owned the man that, just because he listened to him, did not judge him; like the rest of the world did, and never published what he listened that night as he promised.

In fact, taking care of Alice wasn't hard at all, Alice was a very well mannered girl, whose enthusiasm and cheerful disposition make Takeshi smile. Now, he had to witness how one of the few decent people he ever met, was stabbed in the chest in front of his own daughter.

Murderous rage would be an appropriate form of describing his feelings right now.

His emotions fueled his muscles with extra strength, with a simple flex of his legs, Takashi jumped over the fence of the balcony and fall from the balcony to the streets, smashing several of Them and reducing him to a bloody pulp, not even slowing down from the carnage, Takashi start to running down the street, ripping apart anything that came on his way.

Suddenly, Them started to fall to the sides, most of them with their heads vaporized after a muffled sound reached Takashi's ears. With a thumbs up to the sniper of his pack and wide smile on his lips, Takashi focused on running like a madman, dealing with anything that could get in his way, confident in the skill of Kohta´s to deal with anything that his claws would not reach of would took too much time of his run to save the little Alice.

Truth to be told, he was glad to have a gun otaku like Kohta in his pack, firearms were practically the norm in this day and age, and despite how confident he relatively was on his own claws to deal with anything that the world could throw at him, he was conscious of how short his range was. A bullet was faster than him, and have a reach much longer than his arms, so Takashi has already resigned himself to learn about how to efficiently shoot in the future, a skill that it would be a "must have" in this zombie nightmare, even with claws capable of rending steel like wet paper.

Takashi covered the distance between the two houses in no time, his muscles empowered by his rage made him faster than his already impressive speed, and when he reached the fence on where the mass of zombies was piling to feast on Alice, he rammed against them, sending the zombies that pushed the fence flying around like the bricks of a wall hit by a demolition ball.

With a bit of space gained by his brutal onslaught, he grabbed the metal bars and with a grunt and a pull, he tore the door out of its hinges; not really giving a fuck about the screeching and loud sound that he was making, and that would probably call a lot more of Them to the house. Takashi walked in and squished to a pulp the head of the moaning corpse that was about to attack the little girl.

"Hello, Alice," said Takashi, with the beheaded corpse of the zombie falling to the side, his head reduced to a bloody stump.

The crying girl and the suddenly silent and whimpering little dog, raise their heads to see who has saved them.

In the dim light of the entrance, she had to blink a couple of times, first to get rid of the tears of her eyes and then to focus her sight on the figure that eclipsed over them.

Any sane person would have look at the blood-covered boy and screamed in fear, but for the little and saddened girl, the towering monster of the teenager provoked an entirely different reaction.

"Takashi-nii?" asked the girl, not sure if she was seeing right.

"The one and only" smiled Takashi, although, with all the blood and the flesh chunks he had on his person right now, he was distant from being a tranquilizing visage.

"Takashi-nii..." Alice was crying, grabbing the shirt of her father like a lifeline " papa...papa is hurt, he bleeds and.."

Ripping the head of a zombie that was getting to close, Takashi kneel at the side of the little girl, with a pull he take two pieces of cloth from the dry rope in the entrance, one seems to be a towel and other a blanket, using the towel to cover the little frame of Alice he hugged the girl, cautious of do not cover her in the blood and flesh of those things.

"Its ok Alice-chan, your papa is in a better place now" tried to console the wolf boy the crying girl, hugged her little and crying form.

Never letting the girl go from his arms, he kicked the chest of one of the nearest of Them, sending him flying several meters back, blocking the way of the others and knocking down the first line of them, it would give the girl a little time to say goodbye to her father, as properly as one could in this horrid situation.

Kneeling, Takashi took a nearby flower and offered it to Alice, cleaning some of the tears of the girl with his hand, to call her attention from her shocked state.

"Come on, Alice, lets say goodbye to your papa, I am taking you out of here" a loud bark under his knee and something ticking his heel, made him look down and see the little pup trying to chew his hell and muzzling his snout against his foot "and you are welcome too, pup" said Takashi, and somehow the white and black doggie seemed to understand what he had just say.

" _Odd, can I talk to canines now?, another question for that lazy dog"_ snorted Takashi in his mind.

Alice deposited the flower over the bloody blanket that covered her father body and joined her hand into a prayer, silently sobbing in the arms of Takashi, who patiently waited for the girl to end her prayer, Kohta was keeping the most daring of Them away from Takashi and his precious cargo. Once the little girl ended, Takashi scooped up the little pup, much to his surprise and sudden bark, and with a jump, climbed over the red brick fence that separated the houses of this street.

With his two arms busy with his cargo, Takashi could not fight without care, a bad sweep and he could throw the pup and Alice to the floor, considering that he could run faster than a bike, falling at that speed in the middle of a horde of Them was complete disaster, especially for a fragile child like Alice or the little pup in his other arm. So, he had to take a more scenic route, climbing the fences of the houses and walking in perfect equilibrium over the walls, dodging from time to time the hands of some of Them that tried to grab his legs as he passed near them.

Even from this distance, he could see his friends in the balcony...something that made him lose foot for a second, before he jumped three meters in the air and landed over the doghouse of one of housed and then back into the walls, running over the fence to reach the apartment of Rika before he lose concentration like that again. The reason why he has lost foot was that, standing on the balcony, behind Kohta, was Saeko, dressed only in her apron+thong combo that sent all his brain into a reboot.

Sue him, he was a horny dog; he was trying his best not to be, but the beast inside of him was already panting and drooling like a dog in heat at the visage of the purple haired kendoka in nothing but a flimsy apron and a very, very revealing thong that did nothing to hide the perfect and luscious body that the teenager girl possessed.

That was unfair, Saeko was too good to be true, Takashi knew he was falling head over heels for the girl, and he feared that he was already with a crush the size of the Kyoto tower on Hayashi-sensei, not to mention how flirty was Yuuki with him. That was the perfect recipe for a migraine and a disaster that could cost the lives of all his pack, something that terrifies him far more than any physical pain that he could suffer during all this mess. He has already been shot, cut, bitten, mauled and rammed over, so far nothing of it seems to have caused him any lasting pain, but the mere idea of losing some of the people inside the house was something that froze his blood.

With his arms occupied, Takashi did his best to jump from fence to fence, suddenly, the little pup tried to lick his chin, waggling the tail in what seems to be canine acceptance, somehow the little doggy knew that he was not a danger to her master and instead knew that he was going to protect both. Not that Takashi could understand the thinking process of the little black and white dog, but he was right, he was going to protect both from all this. Alice was someone important to Takashi, one of the few people that loved him as a big brother and that enjoyed his company, even when he was a little grumpy for his migraines and pains.

One of Them tried to grab his ankle and Takashi kicked his head so hard that ripped his head off of his shoulders, in a shower of broken bones, blood and gray matter, sending the corpse tumbling against the rest of the grabbing things and gaining a few seconds to jump from one wall to another, getting closer to his safe house. Nearby of the house was surrounded by those things, but they were doing nothing to climb over the walls or broke the door of the garden of the two stories tall house.

That was a good thing, but Takashi eyed the situation and knew that he would have to run some crowd control before he could call it a day and have that long-delayed bath he seriously needed; he was covered in blood and the putrid flesh of Them. On a side note, he really should run his theories with Saya or Marikawa-sensei later, it's not even a day and all of Them look gray and putrid, with dry blood and ashen skin, that should not be normal, they decompose too quickly, another oddity to chalk to this already nightmarish event.

Alice snuggled more closely to Takashi, the girl was still sobbing softly, gripping the blanket and the muscular arms of Takashi under that blanket like a lifeline, he needed the safety that she was experimenting in the arms of her adoptive older brother, now that she had seen how her entire world crumbled to pieces in front of her eyes. Alice was not a survivor, just a seven years old little girl whose parents had been murdered in front of her face during all this fucking day; Takashi could feel the emotions that bubbled under the skin of the child and none of them were good, she was shocked and hurt, the sadness was a stingy sensation in the nose and mouth of Takashi.

Takashi could blame himself for not being faster and help Maresato-san before he got stabbed, but that was the road to madness, he could not save anyone, hell, he was not even sure if he could save his own bloody pack, and that was all it mattered for him right now. And the fact that he has added a new member to the pack, Alice was now another member of his pack, he owned that much to Maresato-san at least. He had no illusions about finding the parents of the girl, Takashi didn't even want to think about if he was going to even see his parents again in all this mess, the less he thought about it, the better.

The last thing he needed now is a distraction, enough of it he already has, whenever one of the girls flirted with him. Right now there was no flirting with him, each time one of the girls emit a subtle signal, the beast inside of Takashi confounded it with permission to screw the woman senseless until she would cry his name to the high heavens. Not the best thing that could happen, getting laid? hell yes that could be good, it would calm the damned beast, but like this? no way in hell, he was not going to use this beautiful and amazing ladies just to itch a scratch, that would be wrong to the eleven.

Hugging Alice closer, Takashi gain some momentum in an impromptu run over the nearest wall and with a mighty jump, he closed the distance between the houses, landing with a soft thud at the other side of the wall that separated Rikas house from the main road; filled to the brim with Them; flexing his knees a little and with a soft grunt, he jumped from the floor to the balcony of the main room, landing with easiness in the balcony, between Kohta and Saeko who was looking at him with a mix of awe and pride; in Saekos case there was a lot of lust hidden in her beautiful blue eyes, they called the beast inside of Takashi.

Being honest with himself, he would love to romp like rabbits with the gorgeous teenager but his own code of honor, prevented him to do any inappropriate to the girl, until she said yes, then all the bets all off and he would gladly make love; mind you, he had said made love and Not fuck like animals; with the purplenette, he was physically virgin but his mind was as virgin as the fresh snow, lust and pervert thoughts did not count at all.

Takashi deposited Alice in the floor, taking the blanket from her and letting the little pup free in the balcony, the dog sniffed all the place around, a little confused. Alice gripped the shreds of the jacket of Takashi, fear visible in her little eyes, she didn't want to let Takashi go.

"Its ok Alice" whispered Takashi to the child "I am not going to go anywhere, but I had something to do, get inside with Saeko-san, she will take care of you, ok".

"Hello Alice," said Saeko smiling to the scared child, she had picked up the name from Takashi whispers "I am Saeko, would you come inside with me?".

"Big brother" Alice whined, not wanting to lose sight of the only semblance of family that she had left.

"I am here Alice" pet Takashi the head of the child with care, after cleaning it a little with the fallen blanket " do not worry, Alice, I will come back, but I need you to be saved inside, ok?".

The girl sobbed a little but let Takashi go and slipped inside the warm arms of Saeko that hugged her and raise her from the floor, softly caressing her hair and comforting the little girl, however, she suddenly extend a hand to Takashi and caressed his check.

"Come back to us, please," she said, trying to send a thousand of feelings into that simple gesture.

Takashi grabbed her hand and push it against his cheek, sighing and tenderly kissing the palm of the hand of Saeko, an action that brought an atomic, yet happy, blush to her face, making her smile with those kissable lips of hers. Sending the beast back to his corner, Takashi rubbed the hand of Saeko and kissed her palm again, before rising from his kneeling position.

"Take care of her, please, she will cry herself to sleep soon," said with sadness Takashi " I had to clean up part of the street or they will overwhelm us when we sleep".

"Be careful, please, Takashi-kun" tell him the kendoka, wanting nothing but kissing him senseless but at the same time., deeply worried about the boy, he was not invulnerable, and the mere idea of him becoming one of Them was an absolute torture for her.

"I will" smiled the boy "I promise you, I will".

Saeko smiled back and bring the little girl inside, where Morita who was packing the clips of the weapons along Igou, looked at her flabbergasted for the sudden appearance of the little girl in her arms and why Takashi was already over the fence and talking to Kohta.

"You sure about this Takashi?" said Kohta with a fresh clip already loaded in his gun "this could get ugly real fast, there are a lot of Them".

"About a hundred" confirmed Takashi with a nod, taking his dangerous nails out in the open with a wet and tearing sound "but I have to deal with Them now or they will bring more and more of them, the distraction of the bridge would only go so far".

"I got your back" sighed Kohta that knew that this was a lost battle, Takashi was going to do it, like it or not "I will kill anyone that got dangerously close to the door".

"Good" smiled Takashi and with that, he jumped down.

Without a sound, he landed behind one of Them and with his fingers extended, he buried his hand into the spine of the living corpse, ripping the spinal cord and the skull of the thing with a pull, after that, he procceded to smash the next of Them with the ripped skull, shattering both skulls, the ripped and the corpse one, at the same time. The sounds attracted more of Them, their moans and grunts were nothing but nuisances to Takashi's senses that only wanted to tear them to pieces; he let the beast go and let him guide where to strike and where to move.

Like an unstoppable juggernaut, Takashi moved around the house, cleaving any group of them that he encountered in his way. His claws were more than enough to pierce their resilient and ashen flesh, coupled with his inhuman strength, each time he attacked one of Them, he destroyed it, sending pieces of flesh and blood flying everywhere, covering the walls and floor of the street with a veritable carpet of blood and gore. He didn't even notice it, Takashi conscious was in the back seat for this one, his inner beast was the one at the controls, taking the initiative and butchering anything that he could perceive as a menace to his pack.

If not, the beast was very good at his work, contrary to Takashi, the beast had no qualms in deploy his full strength, even knowing that Kohta and others came to the balcony from time to time to see how he was dealing with any possible intruders during the night. Takashi would be a lot more worried about what would his pack thought of him if they saw him in this feral state, a state where the beast was unleashed and just tear everything apart until there was nothing left. Truth to be told, Takashi was really enjoying all of this, there was a primal need that he has been suppressing during all this time, a need for battle and blood, a need to release the beast and hunt his preys. Them are the prey, they menace his pack, that´s all he needed to know about Them before he destroys each one of Them.

Takashi buried his hand into the gut of the next and tore him in two, destroying his chest and legs in the process, turning around he kicked the nearest one in the chest, sending her flying in the air with all the organs and the bones of her chest turned into jelly; when Takashi the chest of the zombie woman, another of Them tried to lunge at him, teeth drooling and mouth open, ready to bite. Takashis hand grabbed him by before he could come even close, breaking his body in odd ways for all the inertia that he carried with the jump and that has been nullified by Takashis grip and then, Takashi closed his fist, reducing the head of his latest enemy into a mist of red and gray matter.

Takashi was not a refined fighter, he had not technique, not finesse, he was just immense and brutal power, unleashed against weak spots of the human body, being accurate, it was like seeing a predator fight, he waited for his opportunity and then go for the kill. No hesitation, no fear, no doubt, no mercy; killing strikes that carried inhuman strength behind them. They were fucked, simply as that, if they had a semblance of reason, perhaps they could stand a chance, with strategy or tactics, but Them were nothing but walking corpses and the only opportunity they could even have in front of a monster like Takashi, was to overwhelm him with big numbers and pray for the best.

Seeing the numbers in the street and how there was not a lot more of them coming, way more attracted by the bridge and having difficulties to walk into the splatter house that was the street right now, a lot of them just stumbled into the nearest streets and walked around the corpse field, being unable to walk coordinately enough to dodge the corpse pieces that loitered the entire street.

Takashi had lost sight of the time long ago, but when there was no more of Them close to him, the beast finally lets his control go, not without the last image of him and Saeko doing it savagely, with her face twisted in a shameless expression of absolute bliss. Takashi was the one that snarled at the beast this time, the damn thing always had to have the last word and it was pretty damn obsessed with getting laid as soon as possible, with as many mates as possible. Not that he was not looking forward to it, he was a healthy teenager after all; at least he had a lot more control now, than when he was dating Rei, if he had got laid with the orangette...well, that could have ended badly.

With a muffled sigh, Takashi noticed that he was knee deep in a carpet of butchered corpses, he has cleaned the street but by doing so, he had ended once again, completely covered in blood and body chunks that he preferred not to think about it. All that his senses could pick up was the horrid stench of putrid flesh and blood, with the mix of innards and internal fluids; not a pleasant smell at all, much less to him, who had enhanced senses and could discern the differences between colognes at a mile away with a single sniff.

Grunting and protesting under his breath, Takashi took out his right hand from the chest of one of Them; a cheerleader with a big rack that he had just torn to pieces; with a nasty squelchy sound that made him cringe, the smell of the blood of Them was horrible, and he was covered head to toe in it. It has destroyed his sense of smell, his nose was howling in protest from the odor, and that was something that put him at unease; his enhanced senses were one of his greatest advantages, it alerts him from incoming enemies, but now he could barely smell blood and shit.

The body feel to the floor with a soft thump, and Takashi flexed his wrist a couple of times, relaxing the muscles and sheathing the claws of his nails, there was no need for them for the moment, even with his senses as dulled as they were for the carnage surrounding him, Takashi was capable to perceive that there was no more of Them around. Not really a surprise, considering how he has just exterminated almost all of Them in several blocks around the house, in relative silence, something that would lead the bulk of Them into the bridge and not to the house where his pack was resting from the events of the first day of this bloody zombie apocalypse.

From the balcony, Kohta waved at him, raising his rifle to the night sky, never pointing with the cannon at him; Kohta had already given Takashi several lessons about what was the correct procedure about how to manage and safely manipulate firearms, if not for any other thing, Kohta respected the firearms a lot, always remarking how dangerous they could be without the proper methods. Not that Takashi could object, he has already seen what firearms could do, and how much the bullets bloody hurt when the mers that kidnap Saya emptied several clips of ammo on his body.

Inhaling a couple of times, Takashi catch his breath and reorganize his thoughts, the beast was relatively sated for the moment, he had unleashed a lot of pent up frustration and rage on Them, butchering them like cattle to the slaughterhouse, he was far from being cocky, Takashi would never be prideful or arrogant, but he had to admit that this has been relatively easy for him. Hundreds of corpses loitered the ground, and he thought about how ugly this was going to be in a week when the decomposition of the bodies would start and made this street Rotten Street. Perhaps they should throw some gas and a matchstick and let it burn, but something told him that, that would not be the best of the ideas.

He quickly recovered his breath and push his legs a little further, in order to jump over the fence of the house and then into the balcony of the main room of the house. Kohta was waiting there for him with a bottle of water and a towel, things that Takashi thanked his friend for them, and proceed to gulp down practically the entire bottle of water, Takashi now realized that he was thirsty as hell and his stomach grumbled a little, calling his attention to the fact that he has been without nothing to eat for hours since he wolfed down a raw meat trays when he got into the house of Rika.

"Welcome back, Takashi" greeted Kohta shouldering his rifle " excellent job down there, bloody as hell, but impressive nonetheless".

"I had a loooot" stretched out the word Takashi " of frustration and pent up aggression to release on something, and we need the breather, today has been a very stressful day for everyone".

"You can say that" chuckled humorlessly Kohta "go inside, the bath is clear and we have left dinner for you, just be careful not to awake the girls".

Takashi nodded and followed Kohta inside the house, repairing; thanks to his enhanced eyes; how almost all the girls were sleeping on the big bed that presided the room with Plushy/Magnus on the feet of the bed. Marikawa-sensei and Saeko were embracing Alice in her sleep, the children still had marks on her face for the crying, she must have cried herself to sleep. Yuuki and Hayashi-sensei were at each side of the bed, sleeping peacefully...and now that Takashi repaired on it, all of the older females were dressing very little clothes, practically underwear, and Yuuki in the nude.

Swallowing an aroused growl, Takashi gesture Plushy/Magnus to follow him out of the bedroom, moving with Kohta downstairs were the rest of the pack will be most possibly. The big dog just yawned silently and nodded Takashi, following the two teenagers, there was something on Takashi's smell, and Magnus was not speaking about the coat of blood and body pieces that covered him; that tell the older Therianthrope that Takashi wanted something for him.

The older Therianthrope was quite impressed on how the boy was holding up the situation, he would not have jumped in front of another car to save that foolish girl, but Magnus would admit that love was blind. A lot of the lovers of his past had done similar idiocies and he still jumped the gun for all of them sometimes surviving by the skin of his teeth, good thing Takashi's healing powers seem as good as his or the boy would be already fucked several times.

The little group climb the stairs to the main hall and as Kohta promised, there was some food and drinks on the kitchen counter, Saeko's smell was all over the food, Takashi could tell that she was the one that had cooked it...with help of Hayashi-sensei if his botched nose was right, but first comes first and Takashi finally made a beeline to the bathroom.

He waved to Morita, who was standing on guard near one of the windows, petting the little black and white dog that he had carried with Alice. Much like Kohta, the Mohawk boy had seen everything from his vantage point in the first floor, he could have lost the best parts but from the noises and the number of body pieces that he has seen flying around, he could compose a very gruesome image.

Takashi entered the bathroom and turning the showers on, he let the hot water clean his body from all the grim and blood that coated it, at the beginning he could not even notice the water temperature, so thick was the cape of grim that he had on him, but after a couple of minutes and two bottles of soap, he finally began to feel remotely human. Looking down, Takashi cursed under his breath, at the picture of how the blood and the occasional piece of rotten flesh or bones were about to plug the water drain hole in the floor. Thanks the heavens, some foresighted soul, had left a mop inside, and Takashi could use it to unplug the drainage and keep cleaning himself.

One he could finally enter into the bathtub, he let go a very, very satisfied sigh, he dove into the hot water, the pleasant sensation relaxing his steel-like muscles back into a relaxed state; after all the day walking in nothing but rags and after practically bathing himself in the blood of Them; cold and disgusting stuff that one; a warm and relaxing bath was exactly what the doctor recommended.

Takashi closed his eyes shut and smiled stupidly for a while, just enjoying being clean and relaxed, no wounds healing, no rage bubbling under the surface, no state of alarm, not a beast nagging in the back of his mind about getting laid...spoke too soon.

As he was thinking of how good he felt, the smell of Saeko entered in his nose, no matter when or where, he could always smell her, and after the image of her with nothing but an apron and a thong, his senses had made an extra effort on always looking up for the smell of the woman. The smell of Saeko was sweet and arousing, for him will always smell like lavender and steel, sweet as fresh honey and twice the tasteful.

His brain made a screech when he turned his face to the door and found said a perfect woman, dressed in nothing but a towel, smiling at him with mischief and lust in her sky blue eyes.

"Good night, Takashi-kun, do you mind if I join you?".


	5. Together as one

Takashi blinked.

Then blinked again, trying to made heads or tails about what the fuck has happened.

" _Wait, did I just got laid?"_ questioned himself.

Then, she felt a warm and soft body moving at his side and when he turned his gaze down to see whats going on, he found himself smiling like and idiot to the sleeping face of Saeko, as she snuggled into his side, hugging his naked chest with one of her arms and mumbling something about cold and cuddling. The poor teenager boy could only think about how bloody lucky he was and if he could turn the cuteness of Saeko into a weapon of mass destruction, seriously, she was cute as hell, and he was on the verge of taking her here, right and now, almost unable to contain himself.

Using all his force of will, Takashi untangled himself from the sleeping beauty, covering her with a blanket; so she would not catch a cold by sleeping on the nude; for a second Takashi considered a crime hiding the gorgeous body of Saeko from sight, he could be watching his mate all day.

" _Wait a bloody second; mate?, what on earth?"_ shook his head Takashi, this sudden slips of his inner beast were starting to get annoying, although, Takashi would gladly take responsibility about what just happened, and truth to be told, he was delighted to have a woman like Saeko at his side. She was all that a poor sod like him could ever dream off.

Leaving the sleeping samurai-woman covered in blankets, and kissing her forehead as a goodbye, something that made her smile and giggles in her sleep, Takashi rose off the bed, realizing that he was as naked as Saeko. Grumbling under his breath Takashi start looking for his boxers and pants, he could endure being shirtless but not without pants, he was not a flasher, and the last thing he needed right now was to keep flashing his pack; somehow he had the nagging suspicion that Yuuki and perhaps Hayashi-sensei would not protest very much about it, but Takashi was pragmatical enough to realize that fighting Them in the bare was a very bad idea.

After searching around the room, Takashi finally found his ragged pants in a corner, along with his boxers; that really needed a cleaning up, between the sweat, the blood and other fluids from Them that he preferred not to think about; picking up a towel from the dresser, Takashi sighed and exited the room in silence, determined to wash his clothes; he deserved, at last, a pair of clean pants, it was basic human rights.

Still, he was realizing the difficulty of keeping his clothes relatively clean and in one piece, every time he had to fight Them. Takashi fight close and personal, claws capable of rending steel plus his inhuman strength; an efficient combo; but he always ended covered from head to toe in blood and gore pieces, and despite his inhuman resistance to all kind of harm, walking around like a butchery will overload his senses and made his pack open up for an ambush or a sudden appearance of a horde of Them.

His senses are a very nice advantage that he would not like to lose; kind of ironic, considering how those same senses made his school and personal life a nightmare. Now, he was fighting to keep those same senses as sharp as he could, so he could protect his pack form any harm that could come their way. And the little extra fact that he had a big pack now, his friends and senseis. As sure as he was that very little things could present a challenge to him, his pack was not as invulnerable as him, and a single bite would fuck them up badly. Takashi shuddered at the idea of having to kill any of his friends with his own hands, and he had to contain the bile at his throat at the next line of thoughts; what if Saeko was the one bitten?.

Perishing the thoughts with a soft growl, Takashi exited the room, and found himself in the hall of Rikas house; the friend of Marikawa-sensei had some nice digs, but his pack has practically filled the entire place. He smiled when he saw Morita and Kohta snoring on the couches; all of the girls and Igou took the rooms, so the boys had to sleep on the couches; a very nice couches by the way; passing near them, he moved to the room where he remembered Kohta has told him there was a washing machine, with a little luck, he would find some clothes of Magnus and could borrow them from the older Therianthrope, anything was better than walk around half naked.

With a click, the door opened and Takashi looked into the little cleaning room. There it was the washing machine, a dryer machine and a lot of cleaning products placed on the shelves, filling the space inside the room; he needed nothing more, so he entered, eyed the washing machine for a couple of moments; it was different brand than the one he had at home; familiarizing himself with the buttons and the system. It was clear that the rest of the pack had already used it, judging the basket of clean student clothes that he saw near the corner of the room, someone has even managed to stitch a couple of patches into his damaged jacket; Takashi blessed the kind one that has done him that favor, he really would prefer to keep a jacket instead of going shirtless all around. Even if he was pretty sure that Yuuki and Saeko would be delighted.

Taking the soap, he put all of his clothes into the machine and switched it to a rapid program, he was not sure if they would not have to make a run if a horde of them suddenly surrounded the building, Takashi had already cleaned the surrounding streets, but Them are like a dammed plague, you killed one and a dozen took its place; it was like fighting a tide, he would have to kill the entire population of Tokonosu to get a respite of all this madness, and he was sure there could be near a million or more people making a living in the city; possible more than eighty percent of them would already become part of Them or will become one of Them in the next few days. It would be a herculean task, that's for sure, so the best for his pack was to make a beeline out of the damned city, into the outskirts or islands that surrounded the coast.

Cleaning out an island would be far more easier than cleaning out the entire city, perhaps they could make themselves a living in the old castles that surrounded the mountains of the city, product of the civil wars of a bygone era but sturdy and big enough to maintain his pack safe and with a piece of land where they could make a living.

Takashi surprised himself following that line of thought, he was still basking in the afterglow of getting laid with one of the most beautiful women he has ever meet, and had his mental defenses a little low, after all, the beast seems to be pleased with him after bedding Saeko; but this line of thought about killing entire cities was a new twist in the subtle manipulation that the beast was always trying on him. Not that he cared two shits about anyone that was not his pack, but he was not a massive murderer, a killer?, sadly yes; his hands were drenched with the back blood of all Them that he had killed during the day and before Them, he butchered the mercs that kidnapped Saya, so he was not entirely innocent of the accusation of killing someone; even if the could argue about not being in his sane state of mind. The Beast took control in that one, and you can always expect bloody and violent results when that occurs.

And for his eternal surprise, he was okay with it; he felt no guilt, nor depression, nothing, just the cold logic that all predators possessed. "You are prey, you have to die so I can live" kind of reasoning, more proper of a predatory beast than a human, but Takashi wasn't exactly the prime model of humankind right now. His claws, fangs and slowly growing short fur on his back and shoulders were already more than enough to distance him from the average human; not to mention his inhumane resilience, strength and healing capabilities. He was grateful for them, otherwise his entire pack would be dead by now, bitten and eaten alive by those stumbling things out there, turned into moaning and putrid parodies of who they were. That was something that enraged Takashi, the mere idea of losing Saeko or any other of his pack by the rotten teeth of Them was something that froze the blood of Takashi.

Dress with nothing but a towel and still smiling like and idiot, Takashi exited the cleaning room, searching for something to eat, he was starving, between the fight, the healing and the wonderful sex he was in need of some grub and not so sure about booze; he was not a drinker, especially after seeing that his body treated alcohol as a poison and erase it from his system asap; getting buzzed was a very arduous task for Takashi, who need to drink ten times the usual amount to get a tingling sensation. Takashi was not sure to count it as a bless or as a curse, although, at this point, anything that kept him sharp was a blessing; his senses dulled could spell damnation to his pack, in case of an ambush of Them or another survivalist with a gun and the mind broken by the horror of the situation.

Takashi found his share of the dinner that the girls made after their baths, and it was a big share, something that he was immensely grateful for it, his body demanded food and with gusto, he proceed to wolf down everything in front of him and with a couple of other extra bites, he chewed down like an entire box of cereal. Minami-san would have killed him if he would have done it in front of the tanned woman; following the cereal he chew down a lot of fruits that they will probably not take with them when they left; in an apocalypse like this, fruits and fresh foods like meat and vegetables must be consumed quickly, otherwise they will spoil very quick as there are few chances to conservation of your food in freezers or similar devices.

The young Therianthrope did have an appetite and now that he was more relaxed than he has been the entire week, he enjoyed his dinner. His senses were already telling him that everything was ok, the pack was safe and sound; despite the lingering smell of tears of Alice, but he could nothing about it for the moment; tomorrow morning he would console the girl as much as he could, before taking her with them. Takashi feel that he own the deceased Maresato-san so much, if only for all the times that the journalist treat him like a person and filled his promise of never publish the tale of the savage night of Takashi, the one on when he lost his virginity, became infamous with all the gangs of the city and, if the rumors were true, be the protagonist of a porno movie.

Since then, Takashi swore on all that was sacred to him, to never, ever, use another hard drug; the consequences could be dangerous, and now he had a pack to take care of, the last thing they need is a Therianthrope high on drugs, especially if that Therianthrope was still a teenager and having some serious issues trying to keep his instincts under control as much as he could.

Well, he did not hate how Saeko has managed to slip past his defenses and appear in front of him with nothing but a clingy towel that did nothing but show her gorgeous figure or how he just jump out the bath, kiss her senseless and then proceed to made love to her; to "love her", nice and cute euphemism for fuck her silly; until she couldn't take it anymore and faint due a mix of exhaustion and orgasmic bliss. Takashi felt guilty, even after the girl did her best; and Takashi was in cloud nine, still tasting her delicious lips on his own; even when she rode him like a wild bronco, he only cum a couple of times, meanwhile, Saeko was having multiple orgasms. It was unfair, for the simple reason that Takashi had enhanced stamina, and he could be, at it, for hours even after all the shit he had to deal with during all the day.

It was unfair for the sword mistress and Takashi would love to be able to do something about it, however, he was not sure about how to bring the topic into a conversation with Magnus, it was not like he could just sit at the side of the older Therianthrope and just ask how to be a better or lesser lover depending on the point of view. Takashi snorted, that could be a very funny conversation, he started to imagine it.

" _Ey, Magnus, I had just fuck into unconsciousness my mate and I am still horny as hell, what can I do?"._

"So...Busujima-san and you are an item now?" asked Kohta voice from somewhere at Takashi's right side and the young Therianthrope just nodded with a dreamy smile before his brain stopped in his tracks with a screeching sound, derailing his thoughts and making almost choke on the piece of meat he was chewing.

Coughing and whizzing at the same time he was trying to make a coherent response to the words of Kohta, Takashi lost his breath for a second, with worry in his eyes, Kohta slapped the back of Takashi, helping him to recover his breath for the sudden choking. Frankly speaking, the chubby boy didn't expect this reaction to his question, it was just a phrase to break the ice after all the shit they have been dealing with, all day long. Deep inside, Kohta was partly exulting for all this, it was one of the few scenarios on where his shooting skills could be of any use, and he could shot people without consequence and even better, be praised for it; mind you, what good it is to have a perfect accuracy and you couldn't shot a weapon without going to jail?.

"Goddammit" coughed Takashi "Kohta, buddy, you almost killed me, please next time, do not surprise me like that" wheezed Takashi.

Kohta deadpanned and dryly replied, "how, in sanity´s name, did I managed to surprise a man with enhanced senses?".

Takashi just stopped coughing and stared back at Kohta.

"Uh, yeah, sorry, I was distracted" recovered his breath Takashi, sitting in one of the chairs of the kitchen "it has been a long day and I had a lot on my head".

Kohta turned his head to the bedroom where Takashi and Saeko have been sweet loving each other for the past...with a quick glance to his wristwatch he looked at the hour, seven or so hours, it was seven and half in the morning, the usual waking hour for Kohta.

"Yes, I can see" commented with a faint smirk.

"Smartass" snorted Takashi without malice.

Kohta was a valuable member of his pack; he was a friend even before Them made their appearance, and so far, the chubby boy has demonstrated to be a solid and trustworthy ally in all this debacle, covering his back and taking care of the rest of the pack, along Saeko, when he had to jump the gun; or better said the truck; to save Reis ass this morning. Now that Kohta had a real weapon in his hands, Takashi knew that he had the perfect sniper to cover his flanks when he will have to charge into another horde of Them to dismember all those rotten things before they could threaten his pack

"I am happy for you two" smiled the boy "no, really" nodded at the surprised a little confused expression of Takashi "both of you have been tip-toeing around each other before all this shit happens; it is good that you both finally acknowledged your feeling...although I must confess, I am a bit envious and a bit scared of whats going to happen now".

"Kohta" sighed Takashi "you lost me".

Kohta stared at Takashi, not entirely sure if he had ear the boy right, well, he couldn't be so oblivious no?, with his senses and all, he should have already picked up the signals of the girls, Kohta did it, and he was a short-sighted boy; unless Takashi was voluntarily not seeing what was going on around him, and Kohta could not entirely blame his friend for it. Kohta could empathize up to a point with Takashi, how, suddenly, everyone and his mother depended on him to survive another day, and if wasn't for the guns that Marikawa-senseis had in the house, Kohta knew that he would be more a liability than the asset Takashi believed he was.

"Well, I thought you knew" muttered Kohta a bit embarrassed "I mean, Miku-san has not been precisely discrete about her attraction to you, if what Morita told us about what happened in the kitchen was an indicator, and your crush for Hayashi-sensei is the worst keep secret I have never seen".

"Kohta, my friend, are you saying that I have some kind of a harem after my sorry, lame, ass?" laughed Takashi considering the idea completely absurd, he was not like that, he was dangerous, a monster, Saeko...well, he has no idea of what to do about that, so much was true, but he was not some kind of playboy. His inner beast had another different opinion, but the beast seems to get his kicks with the denial of Takashi.

"Yes" deadpanned Kohta with a voice that sounded like the hammer of a judge, just about to pronounce sentence on the case.

Takashi stopped half bite and raise his head to look at Kohta, that stared him back with all seriousness.

"Oh, shit" finally said Takashi; realizing that Kohta was right; he had the skeleton of a harem, starting with Saeko as Alpha female and… " _wait a second"_ thought Takashi " _what was that about alpha female?"_ the beast inside of him snorted in amusement and just let Takashi reach his own conclusions about what will be his relationship with the sword woman and the rest of the females that were after his bones.

"I..." started Takashi to speak "I am lost about what to do" confessed the golden-eyed boy "you know me Kohta, when did I became an eligible partner?, I am freaking dangerous, you know it better than anyone, you saw me when I slapped Tsu...whatever his name was, into a wall, I could have broken his bloody neck, and do not make me start on what happened when Saya was kidnapped".

"Yeah, right, because I am Doctor Love, uh?" the sarcasm in Kohta voice made Takashi pause and smiled sheepishly to Kohta, Takashi had forgot that Kohta had a crush the size of the city over Saya, much like Morita, but the latter was more in love with her boobs than anything else; his friend was not precisely the Casanova of Fujimi Academy.

"Sorry Kohta" apologized Takashi "is just…, well, we are not experts in all this, and frankly and a bit terrified; I love her? yes, I do, like you wouldn't believe, I personally blame my Therianthrope side for, anything about her and I am like an animal in heat".

"Ah, young love, how charming" the strong and sarcastic voice that echoed at their side made Kohta almost jump to the ceiling like a scared cat, Takashi, however, knew perfectly well who was the owner of that voice and if it wasn't for the fact that he knew that the man would punch him back, Takashi would have punched him through the wall; after some questioning of course.

"What the fuck?!" whined Kohta backpedaling and raising his rifle looking for enemies, only to see the big dog of Marikawa-sensei lazily strolling down the stairs with his tongue hanging and a canine smirk in his fangs. Kohta blinked a couple of times and lowered his rifle, looking alternatively between Takashi; who was eating like nothing was going on; and the big dog, who pass at his side and entered into the cleaning room, skillfully raising over his back legs and pushing the knob of the door with his front pawns.

"Takashi" called Kohta to his friend "did the dog just talk?".

"Yes" simply stated Takashi, gulping down the food with a bottle of water.

"Ah, good to know" nodded Kohta, before freaking out and walk up and down the entrance of the house, mumbling to himself, Takashi tuned out the mumbling, leaving the boy set his head straight after how his world crumbled in front of him; Takashi had to admit that he freaked out a little too, the first time that Magnus spoke to him, although he was surrounded by corpses and going down from one of his fade to red moments, a very bad one and a very good one, truth to be told.

Takashi's awakening as Therianthrope was a traumatic one, he finally achieved what he should have been since the beginning when a bunch of Them tore his flesh apart and infect him with whatever the hell they carried on their putrid veins and teeth. His healing powers entered in an overload mode, healing him completely from everything that was going wrong, that means, he recovered from the traumatic wounds that he suffered as a child when another Therianthrope tried to stole his powers and instead left him almost crippled and with his powers completely messed up. Years of suffering and migraines, until finally, everything was set right. He only had to die to discover how much he wanted to live.

Thing is, that Magnus was waiting for him after he awoke from his rage, when everything went red and he did things that he could not remember by his dear life; the older Therianthrope found him and showing that he could change between animal and human, he gave him a quick rundown of what he was. He would have asked a dozen more things, but with Them crowding the school, Takashi's pack safety was his first priority and when he joined the rest of his pack, there was always a possible witness; Magnus was acting as if was nothing but a big dog, Marikawa-senseis favorite pet, and secret bodyguard, for what Takashi could deduct, the man was already in a relationship with Rika Minami, Marikawa-senseis roommate and dear friend, whose house was not resting in.

Magnus loved the woman, and Takashi had not the valor to broke his cover, not to mention that Takashi had the nagging sensation that the older Theriantrope could kick his ass ten ways to Sunday, blindfolded and with an arm tied to his back. Mind you that Takashi was happy to have Magnus around, even if he was not part of his pack, he would protect Marikawa-sensei at all cost, and by doing so, he will by default, protect those that the nurse was attached to, Takashi was one of her favorite students, a boy that she had helped a lot in the past, and Takashi was taking a little advantage over that fact, to keep the nurse on his pack and by doing so, keeping the powerful Theriantrope as an extra weapon; just in case everything went pear shaped and Takashi failed.

Takashi was a realist; he was not invincible, he was not almighty, far from it; even if he could easily slaughter any human or any of Them in his way, a bullet to the head was as deadly for him as for anybody else, just harder to achieve and with his enhanced bones, it would be needed a high caliber bullet to punch trough his cranium but it is not impossible. A shotgun to the face and he was dead meat, leaving his pack and Saeko abandoned to their luck, something that is not going to happen, never under his watch.

A couple of minutes later, the human form of Magnus exited the cleaning room with a humongous unbuttoned shirt and a pair of short jeans; Takashi just thought how hilarious it would be for him to have a Hawaiian shirt, give him a pair of sandals and he would be a hilarious sight.

"Not in my bloody life" snorted Magnus, taking a seat near Takashi at the kitchen table, serving himself a cold beer.

"I beg your pardon?" asked Takashi.

"You were imagining me with a Hawaiian shirt and sandals" deadpanned Magnus, taking a sip from his beer.

"How?" spluttered Takashi almost choking with his rice.

"Rika had the same expression as you when she saw me in a button shirt and short jeans, the day later she bought me a dozen of those accursed things" explained Magnus with a sigh "she forced me to wear one; each time we had outdoor sex, she forced me to have one of those abominations on, she considered it kinky; fortunately, she got so wild in those little rumps that the shirts ended up torn apart".

"Magnus" sighed Takashi swallowing the lump of rice in his throat and emptying a glass of water in one.

"Aye lad?" answered the tall man.

"Too much information" concluded Takashi looking at him with a neutral expression.

"Lad, you are a teenager Therianthrope of superb lineage that had just got laid with his mate, the Alpha female of his pack" explained Magnus with a hint of amusement in his voice "you are not going to be capable of getting your hands out of each other, believe me, I know, Rika and I were the same when we meet each other".

"I hate you" glared Takashi at the older man.

"I bask in your hate" chuckled back Magnus chugging down his beer and taking another.

"Excuse me" intervened Kohta in the conversation, now that he had calm a little "but who the hell are you?".

"Magnus" presented himself offering a hand to Kohta who was about to shake it when the man caught him by the forearm instead of the usual hand shake "another Theriantrope".

"Ah!" pointed out Kohta to Takashi "so he was the one that told you about your status as Therianthrope," said Kohta, finally realizing the last piece of the puzzle that he has been munching on, after Takashi told them his story, not long after they reached the house of Rika.

"Well, this member of your pack is more clever than the rest give him credit for" nodded Magnus impressed "and yes, I was the one that explained to him what he was when he finally cure himself of his crippled state".

"Why the hell not before? Takashi had to pass a bloody hell, he surely would have loved to have someone to explain it to him, why the hell was he so different" asked Kohta, sitting in another chair and gulping down a beer.

Fuck being underage, he was trying to not freak out and start screaming about how bloody senseless this was, and then he realized that he starting to being rude to an eight feet tall man who could strangle an elephant with arms the size of barrels, Kohta thought that perhaps he should tone down the speech a little; Kohta has survived Them, he was not eager to die by pummeling under the ham sized fist of this Magnus fellow.

But Magnus was not angered, in fact, he was happy to see that Takashi had a good partner; a friend that worries about him even after discovering how different Takashi was from the rest of his pack. The older Therianthrope had already seen more than once how people close to them, even family members, turn their back to other Therianthropes; especially in zones where Christianity still had an iron grip over society and morals, back in the days of the Spanish Inquisition, entire villages burned to the ground when one asshole denounced his own family and kill them all with fire.

Takashi, on the other hand, was happy to see that his friend has his back, that Kohta understood how fucked up were a lot of things for Takashi, that had to put an extra effort in everyday matters or he would snap and tear apart anyone who dared to even look at Takashi funnily. Anger issues were the basis of all the problems that Takashi had in the past, very much like a wounded animal will snap to anything that annoyed him, it was the everyday occurrence with Takashi; always in control, always holding back, fearing that he would severely hurt anyone in his path, if he was not careful enough. He didn't have proof but he was pretty sure, it was one of the reasons why Rei broke with him; the constant need of being extremely cautious around her would probably send her the wrong message.

Well, that was something he could do nothing about now, he had to think what is safe for the pack, and he was with Saeko now, he was not going to be a two timing bastard; mind you that he had no fucking idea about what to do with his feelings for Hayashi-sensei or how physically attracted was to the seductive Yuuki. That would be opening an entirely new can of worms and he was not ready to deal with right now, not to mention how he was pretty much convinced that it would fuck up all the cohesion of the pack, if he started to act like a bloody Casanova, dicking around with all the females that he was attracted to.

And, unfortunately for Takashi, it was quite a long list; even if he had done his best to hide his desires under a grumbling and hardcore facade, truth to be told, he need all his willpower not to get back with Saeko in the bed and plow her until she hated her own vagina, or to go chasing the gorgeous milf redhead that was Hayashi-sensei and show her the power of youth until she couldn't walk, or look out for Yuuki and let her show how good she was with a man with unlimited stamina. And those were only the girls that he was sure he was attracted to; not even make him start on what a mess was how he feels about Rei and Saya, those two were different; the former was his ex, with a very bad break up, and the latter was practically his sister in all but blood.

So, in resume, Takashi love life was a nightmare; he didn't regret, not even for a second, what happened with the gorgeous purplenette, the girl dig her nails in his back strong enough to leave some serious marks that his healing factor easily took care of, but even if the woman had the best orgasms of his life, Takashi didn't. This was something that could open a very bad breach between the two of them, even if Takashi didn't know the kendoka for more than a week, and that being generous, he already deducted that Saeko was a bit of a perfectionist and not being able to satisfy him was going to be a big blow for the ego of the woman. Would Takashi think less of her for it?, not in a million years, Saeko was the most exceptional woman Takashi has met in his entire life, everything on her was perfect, he was the one at bloody fault, it was simply unfair for her. Saeko was a very healthy teenager with a body that several supermodels would sell their moms souls for, however, she was a virgin girl until some hours ago and her first time was with a superhuman boy that had enhanced stamina and the libido of a horny beast.

"And that's is way I couldn't just appear in his life and throw him this curve ball" interrupted the voice of Magnus, the mussings of Takashi about his sex life, as Magnus ended to explain Kohta why had he not just appear one night in front of Takashi and explain him a few things.

"I could see why" nodded Kohta with a beer in his hands "wounded and confused as he was, you can only help him in the sidelines by standing at his side and somehow calming his inner beast as much as you could, by letting him know that he was not alone and there was a bigger, badder wolf nearby".

"Good resume" said Magnus drinking from his can "the inner beast sensed me, noticed that I was a top predator too, and we respected each other, as soon as I would have revealed myself as a Theriantrope, his inner beast would have reacted with fear and panic, instinctively suspecting another attack like the one that left him with the scars on his back and his powers in a complete mess".

"But why did you not help him heal?" ask Kohta "It would have been something easier than been bitten to the death by all of Them".

"Healing for a Therianthrope is a unique thing; as any other human would do when they are wounded or sick, the body fights back" explained Magnus "but if the will and the desire of the Therianthrope is strong, he can force his body to heal; even the most grievous wounds can be nothing but minor nuisances, you have already felt that lad" turn his head Magnus to Takashi.

"When they kidnapped Saya" whispered Takashi, leaving his chopsticks over the empty bowl, losing himself a little in the blurry and fuzzy memories.

"Ah, yeah" said Kohta "she did told us how she saw you shot like a trillion of times and then rammed by a van and still here you are, peachy as always" the alcohol was loosing a little, the chubby boys tongue but there was no malice in his tone, just playful fun and mockery with a friend.

"If I recall correctly" added Magnus his own two cents "a hundred of bullets, run over by a heavy van, twice, and then run for quite a distance until he reached the warehouse where the mercs were hiding and kill all of them".

"Please do not remind me" pleaded Takashi with a hint of blush in his cheeks and a shadow of gilt in his eyes.

"Lad, you did well," said Magnus, all jokes out of his tone "they were going to kill a member of your pack, your inner beast saw it and reacted in consequence, no piety, no mercy; the strength of the Therianthropes is not on themselves, but on their packs".

"But you are alone" replied Takashi, who didn't precisely wanted to discuss the carnage he did in the warehouse, he was like a rabid beast, and that was something that scared him immensely.

"Nay, lad" smirked Magnus "I am not alone, I have Rika, I have Shizuka and I now I have a stubborn pup that has barely grow his teeth and is already chastising himself like he was some kind of monster, when is quite the opposite".

"Shut up" grumbled Takashi, now that the older man had a human speech to use against him, he was even more insufferable than when he was a grumpy dog.

"Takashi, lad" sighed Magnus "honesty, you should stop doing this to yourself, just bloody ask your pack what do they think about all this shit, well, at last, the part that you actually cared about, isn't that right, lads?"

"Wait, lads?" asked Takashi, who was starting to see that his senses were as fine as his concentration, that means that if he keeps brooding around, anyone could blindside him as he was not paying attention to his surroundings.

"Hiya" saluted Morita, taking a seat around the little kitchen table and taking a beer from the hands of Kohta with thanks for the offering "so...sorry but, what the fuck did I miss?" raised an eyebrow Morita at the presence of Magnus.

At this point of the time, Morita was already over all the weirdness that seems to surround Takashi, and just roll it, Takashi was a bud and one did not leave his pals in the corner when they need a hand, even if he didn't understand half the shit that he was telling them.

"Ah, Morita, Magnus, Magnus, Morita" presented Kohta shrugging and grabbing another beer, he was going to be a little buzz, but right now, being a little buzz was a very welcome change of peace, something that would help him to digest all the news and the reality of whats happening around.

"Hello" waved Morita to the man, going with the flow "so, back to the important things, pal?" look Morita at Takashi.

"Yes?" asked the teenager.

"Congratulations for getting laid" deadpanned Morita "but for fuck's sake, next time, do not make her scream like a bloody banshee!".

Takashi almost choked on his own drink at the laughter of the rest of his friends.

The air was foul, the smell of putrid flesh, sickness, charred flesh and buildings, gasoline, chemicals of all kinds and the smells of a lot of body fluids that Takashi did not know of his existence until now assaulted his senses, as the Teenager run from roof to roof, scouting ahead of the pack that traveled in the big Humvee of Rika Minami. Considering the size of the pack, Takashi had to run along the vehicle, they were too many to fit in comfortably; although the glares that almost all the females threw at him were an indicator that he was more than welcome to "fit" something long, big and juicy into their little secret places.

Don't ask him how does she know, with mind blowing precision, what he has done the previous night and Yuuki kept teasing Saeko, although the samurai-woman did not seem to hold any grudge against Yuuki and just blushed and giggled at the teasing of the orange haired bombshell.

As impossible as it sounds, somehow, both of them seems to have reached some kind of common ground; Takashi did not flatter himself by believing it was around his relationship and attraction to both of them, even if he had already performed the deed with Saeko, he was more mentally mature to believe that they had become closer by being his lovers. Anyhow, it was a good thing that both had reached an agreement, if not a friendship. For what Takashi saw when they flashed him in the kitchen, jealousy could be a time bomb for his pack, killing all of them in the worst appropriate of the moments.

Alas, what Takashi did not expect was how easy they had become something akin to friends and how Saeko dressed that morning. Mini-skirt, combat boots...yeah, Takashi needed all his force of will to do not jump at her, right there and make love to her until she couldn't take anymore, and then do the same to Yuuki, as he somehow suspected that it was her idea.

Mini-skirt, leaving all her creamy tights open to the sight and the string of a very tempting black lace tong, god dammit, it was unfair, Saoko was beauty incarnated.

Takashi eyed the shop that he smelt for a mile away when the Humvee took exit form the flat of Rika and moved into the streets ramming a lot of Them that had reunited once again, guided by the noises and fires that the disaster of the evacuation left in the bridge on the opposite side of the river. This was the seven-store he raid, killing anything inside that was not alive and filling his backpack with all the medicines and other basic necessities that Marikawa-sensei and Saya asked him to collect as they moved through the streets, looking for a way into the district on where Saya, Rei, Takashi, and Igo lived before all this disaster.

The nose of Takashi soon pick up the putrid smell of Them filling the store, judging from the smell and the sound, there should be a dozen of those thing shuffling around the store, drenching the place in their stench and making very hard to get some fresh supplies, although, Takashi was pretty sure than in a week or so, all electrical commodities are going to be a pleasant dream, he was enough tech-savy to know how hard is to maintain a proper electrical supply, not to mention how it would be more than possible than the Power stations would be by now, filled to the brim with a lot of Them, possible the former personnel that did not made it in time and fell at the teeth of their own colleagues or hordes of Them attracted by the sound of the machines, the only ones working in the city.

Takashi suspected that he was going to like a lot the new city, now that practically all the population was going to be one of Them or would be on his merry way and be evacuated God knows where, the entire city was silent, like a graveyard; only the occasional moan and shuffle of a bunch of Them or the buildings collapsing by the wild fires that spread around the city; products of crashing cars, battles among survivors and Them and all kind of things like that. He had found a lot of those things in his way to the stores, but he had steeled his heart and ignore most of it, he had a pack to take care of and he, not a bleeding messiah that would save everyone in his way. Enough already was on his plate to deal with that shit, no thanks, his pack was his first and foremost priority, fuck everybody else for the moment.

It was a good thing that his parents were out of the city, or at last, that was Takashi believed, his mother was along his father in a little escapade both of them planned sometime ago but only now that Takashi has show improvement in his condition, did they took the chance and made the travel they always wanted, it was a bless and a curse at the same time, as Takashi knew that the travels between nations are going to be nonexistent in a couple of days tops; as soon as the evacuations ended and the Vips are out of the nation and safe and sound in who know what kind of secret bunkers and other shits like that.

The rest of his pack was in a similar situation and he should have asked them about what they think they should do about their parents and familiars, he knew about the situation of Rei, Igo, and Morita, Kohta was very much like him; in the sense that his parents were out of the country; Yuuki was an unknown, Alice was alone now, Marikawa-sensei had Magnus and Rika; speaking of the nurse friends, how would be Doctor Morgan faring against all this mess?, Takashi really owned the man a lot for helping him with that herb concoction of him, that calmed his worst seizures, it would be a bloody pity if the brilliant man became one of Them.

Taking impulse in the edge of the corner of the roof where Takashi stood to look at his next objective, he sniffed the air once, inhaling deeply and focusing in the one and only smell that he couldn't forget or lost no matter what; the soft, silky yet steely smell of Saeko always made him smile. Since they bedded together, the connection that Takashi felt with the samurai-woman has become deeper, now Takashi could say without fear of being wrong that he could pinpoint the location of Saeko as long as both are in the same continent and the other has not taken painstaking measures to cover her smell. The teenager Therianthrope took strength from the smell, the smell of his mate made him focus back into his mission, forgetting any mussing and lost thoughts, now he was back into his beast mind with the mission of cleaning that store of anything that his pack could consider value.

And condoms.

He was carrying two boxes of fifty units and he was sure that was going to last for more than two weeks at the pace that his libido was demanding him to bed Saeko, in fact, Takashi took mental note of asking Magnus if there is a way for them to tone down a little these sex carvings of him; it was dangerous and energy consuming, the last thing he need was Saeko being unable to escape from Them because he has left her bowlegged after a very intense lovemaking session.

That would be an embarrassing death and Takashi will rip his own head off as soon as such a thing happened. Without Saeko he was going to be nothing but a bloody beast, trying to appease his suffering by killing anything else in his way; that was the impression that his beast was sending him each time he even had a passing thought of losing Saeko at the hands of Them or any other trouble that got in his pack way. He was fiercely protective of his pack, even before he knew about all of this Theriantrope thing, he always has been protective of those he cared about; the few that Takashi actually considered as precious to them. Unfortunately, or fortunately considering the circumstances, it was not a long list.

Long before all this mess, Takashi was mostly a lonely child, his uncontrollable strength, his anger issues and the fact that he could cause a lot of harm if he was not cautious about what he did, soon marked him as a pariah, one that did not fit in the strict and stern parameters and appearances of the Japanese society. In part bless, in part curse; Takashi was too different from his peers as a child that he had very little childhood friends, Rei and Igou topping that list and everybody knows how well did that go.

Using a broken metal beam as a support for an acrobatic landing, Takashi landed, boots front, over the face of one of Them, slamming the moaning walking corpse into the ground and smashing his head into a bloody pulp; Takashi did not lose a second and run inside, trying to win as much space as he could, before the sound of the splattered head called the attention of the dozen or so of Them inside the store and they try to overwhelm him in the restraining space inside the building.

Takashi didn't lose any time in checking around the place, instead he focused on dealing with Them, killing them as quickly and fatally as he could; after what the pack had experienced with Them, only blowing their heads off or completely rending them to pieces was an effective way to deal with them; otherwise they would still keep moving and trying to attack them, even if they are bisected by their middle half or lost a good chunk of their torsos or even part of their heads, only the complete removal of the brain means their second; and this time definitive; death.

Once again, Takashi had to pray in thanks for his claws, the three inches nails were more than enough to produce copious amounts of damage on their bodies, most of them just dress in normal clothes; a lot among them with their clothes torn from the attacks that infected them in the first place; that provided with little to none protection against his claws or his fist and feet when Takashi punched and kicked them into walls and ceilings. It sounded like something out of an anime, but Takashi was strong enough to uppercut a grown up man several meters into the sky, and if he manages to accurately hit the under chin of his victim, he has already check how he could rip the head off Them with a solid uppercut, vaporizing their heads in an explosion of blood, flesh, bone and brain matter.

It sounded nasty and violent, and it was, but Takashi has already promised himself that it was for the best of his pack, he would butcher anything in his path before any of his pack could suffer any possible damage.

It didn't take much for the teenager boy to clean the place, leaving a lot of body pieces laying around in puddles of their own black and smelly blood. Takashi has soon learned to block the smell of the blood of Them, it was pungent and piercing, his nose cringed each time he caught a sniff of that accursed thing. After running some ideas with Saya and Marikawa-sensei in the morning; after they finished the breakfast and move out of the house of Rika; they pretty much assured him that the blood was as rotten as the rest of the body, so it would be for the best of everybody if that blood was left untouched, or even better, torched and destroyed, just in case it falls into food or drinks and contaminated them.

Mind you, that Takashi was not a survivalist, he was playing by the ear, doing what he considered best for the survival of his pack, but he was far from being an expert in the matter, that was the rest of the pack was for; to cover each other weaknesses and made the pack stronger. Saya and Marikawa-sensei were the brains of the team, even if the former was a tsundere of epic proportions and the latter an airhead, they were knowledgeable and had foresight enough to know what could the pack need in the future. Takashi was more than happy to get his hands dirty and scourge any store or warehouse he could find for what they had told him to get; it was something he could apart of keeping the Humvee working. The car may be an impressive piece of mechanics but in essence was a more complex car, and Takashi knew a lot of mechanics. The consequence of all the time past tinkering with his bike.

Moving his backpack in front of him, Takashi started to look around the shelves and the floor, looking for the elements that figure in the list, it didn't take him long to get the backpack full with all kind of basic products and things that would be very hard to find in the future and would be essential for their survival. Even if a single bite of Them was lethal, medicine and antibiotics could be more valuable than gold as the days pass and the survivors of the first attacks tried to make a living in this Zombie apocalypse world.

Adjusting the backpack on his back, Takashi exited the store, punching in the face another of Them, that has come closer to the place, attracted by the sounds he has made when he was cleaning up the store and had ripped all of Them that were inside into tiny pieces. Raising his head, Takashi eyed the sky, it was a very clear day, with white clouds and blue sky, perfect for a walk in the park or a picnic in the mountains. With a snort Takashi started to climb the facade of the building, raising from the street level; slowly being filled with packs of Them; to the roofs, that he has been using to jump around, dodging entire hordes of Them.

It was surprisingly easy for someone like him, to jump from roof to roof; a little run to gain momentum and with a jump, he could cover more than ten meters easily; even if he wanted to force himself, he was pretty sure that he would be capable of covering thirty meters long jumps, if he had enough inertia gained to made it. These physical inhumane skills are a blessing, although he has been paying a harsh toll all these years for them, it was not until he was in the verge of dying that his powers get an extra push and corrected themselves.

On a side note, Takashi took good note of asking Magnus about that Fade to Red that he had from time to time, specially when the Beast took over and he was nothing but a rage machine, hell bent in torn apart anything in his way. As useful as it could be to deal with an incoming horde of Them, losing control like that means that he could leave his pack behind him, or even worst, being him the one that causes damage to his pack.

That was totally unacceptable.

His claws easily pierce the concrete of the facade, allowing him to climb very fast, reaching the roof of the building were the store was placed in a very short of time and showing him a very "nice" view of the surroundings and how the city was going to hell in a basket. The picture was devastating, a smoking nightmare chorused by an occasional explosion and the moans and groans of hordes of Them loitering the streets like a living tide of putrid flesh, waiting and lazying around until the next prey show itself and could mob it, biting it and spreading whatever they carry on their veins.

Takashi would have loved to analyze what the hell was those things, unfortunately, it was more a pipe dream that a real possibility, without proper equipment and a lot of time to decipher the mess, it was almost impossible to even begin to scratch the mystery of this zombie plague. Not to mention that Takashi had his own shit to deal with, after all, he was a Therianthrope, and for what Magnus told him, one of very good lineage; how it can possibly be?, frankly, Takashi had no idea of how it can be. Considering that he knew of his family, he didn't have the slightest idea of from whose side of the family comes the Theriantrope powers, none of the relatives he knew showed the slightest hint of being something else and if it were the case, his Beast would have reacted to them, much like he did with Magnus, although the older and more powerful Theriantrope was a soothing presence, not an invading one, helping him to deal with the emotion rampage that was his powers and instincts.

Puberty could be hell for a teenager, but add to that, the emotions and instincts of a Theriantrope, top it with inhumane physical capabilities and you had the recipe for a nightmare. In a sense, Takashi was slightly grateful for all this zombie outbreak, after all, his powers were cool and all that, but they were not precisely useful in a modern society unless he pretended to do career in the criminal world or in the Army were it would be more than probable that they would have caged him and open it with sharp knives to see what made him thick.

In the middle of all this bullshit, he could be as brutal and violent as he desired, using his powers to the full without worry of being caught by some undesired witnesses or being recorded and uploaded to Youtube; his crazy night did not count, being an amateur pornstar didn't happen, nop, Takashi would forever deny any accusation about that topic and possibly burn every single copy of the video he could put his hands on. His beast pointed out that perhaps it was good thing, his massive orgy could be an appetizer for his harem; Takashi grunted and pretty much ignored the remark; he was with Saeko now and that was final, he did not have a bloody harem like some kind of Sultan of Arabia or something as silly as that. He was loyal to Saeko.

And the beast, an asshole as he was, made him remember the picture of Saeko, Yuuki, and Hayashi-sensei almost naked and with their bodies wet from yesterdays bath.

No need to mention, how the brain of Takashi made a screeching sound and freeze as he walked in one of the roofs, trying to deny the arousal he was experimenting or the drool that was starting to dangerously form in the corners of his lips.

Takashi really hated when his beast was such an asshole and a smartass at the same time; unfortunately, he couldn't deny the attraction that he felt for both women; the former because her open sexuality, openly and shamelessly flirting with him and offering a tsunami of pleasure and unbridled lust and the latter because Takashi always had a crush the size of the Tokyo tower on the red head sensei. Takashi would never tell about Saeko how the red hair was one of his multiple and recently discovered fetishes, he had always liked the sensei, and not because her gorgeous appearance; as the woman was quite attractive even in her middle thirties; but for her beautiful voice, her calm demeanor and how she always treated him like a person and not like a menace, like pretty much the rest of the world with few notable exceptions.

Putting the backpack on his chest for a second, Takashi look for something inside the backpack for a second; it has been an unexpected stroke of good luck, but he found his favorite cigar brand into one of the stores that he looted since this morning, and now that he has a second to enjoy the views; irony was strong in that statement; Takashi pick up a cigar and lighten it up with a brand new lighter. The strong taste of the cigar filled his nostrils and mouth, it has been a while since he could enjoy his little vice.

After all the changes he had to suffer, he still had the necessity from time to time, to indulge in his smoking vice; he would never do it in front of the pack of course, he was sure that Saeko and Saya would not approve of it, not to mention Marikawa-sensei would give him a very long and stern lecture about why smoking was a very bad idea, even with his regenerating lungs and all that jazz about his healing factor. He would never disappoint any of them, he loved them too much to ever thing about failing them in any way, he was not sure about his Fade to Red moments but even then, something tells him that he would never harm any of his pack voluntarily, not unless there were some strange circumstances around that decision.

The pack was stronger as the members on it are conscious about how each one of them is part of the whole; a divided pack is a dead pack.

Takashi was not so arrogant to believe that he was the top dog of the broken city, any jack out there could put an end to his life with a lucky shot of a shotgun, healing factor be dammed; if his head was blown off his body, there was no way that he was going to recover from that, perhaps Magnus could, but the older Theriantrope has been walking this valley of tears for Kami knows how many years. As he explained to him, Therianthropes are like an old wine, time only makes them better.

Anyhow, his pack was on the move onto the streets where the house of Saya was, she had insisted on moving there first; as much as she clashed heads with her papa, she knew very well that her father and mother will not stand idly in the middle of this apocalypse. They were very strong-willed people, so much Takashi was more than sure, however, there was a nagging sensation in the back of his mind about Saya's father, the man always treated him respectfully, so much was true, however there was always a hint of tension on him, each time he played with Saya, it was under the careful watch of one of the men of Souichiro.

Could it be that the man knew what he was and was afraid of what he could do to Saya?, no, that could not be the reason, if the man had enemies that hired a professional team of mercs to kidnap his daughter, that means that the man was more than capable of pulling such a stunt himself if it was needed; following that line of thought, Takashi concluded that if Souichiro saw him as a menace, he would have already dealt with him, be it at his own hands or sending one of his multiple goons to kill him when Takashi was at his weakest. He was a childhood friend of Saya, if Takagi father saw him as a menace, he would have never allowed his only daughter to play with such a dangerous person.

With a grunt and a lot of smoke being exhaled into the morning, Takashi snorted, he was procrastinating a lot this morning, thinking too much about a lot of things over that he had little power or none at all. The Beast snorted in synchrony with him, there was little to gain in all this mussing, once the pack reached Takagi's manor, then he will worry about what will happen in the future, for the moment, Takashi concentrated in keeping his pack as safe as he could.

Takashi froze, the Beast froze.

The cigar fell to the floor of the roof, but before the cinders of the tip of the cigar could even reach the black cover of the concrete floor, Takashi was already on the move, crossing the distance between him and the edge of the roof in a blink and jumping with all his might over the concrete and plastic border of the roof; his steps broke the concrete under his feet, his teeth were already growing into the fangs of a predator.

 _Saeko, danger, fear, PACK IS IN DANGER!._

More than words, the Beast was communicating with Takashi in images and feelings, sharing his concern and worry about his mate and the Pack. Takashi was so focused on running to his pack that he let the mate remark slip, after all, they were together now and he loved Saeko with all his bestial heart. He knew that his pack was in danger and berated himself for not being there. What good could be in being a monster if you can at least protect what you cared for? his pack was one of the few things that keep him sane, and now he sensed how his pack was in danger.

The only smell that he could not block, not that he would ever block it, was the smell of Saeko; the usual silky and welcoming smell carried a tint of panic and a lot of adrenaline, along with the acrid taste of fear and the strong savor of rage and cruelty. Only Saeko could be like the Katanas she loved, a dangerous weapon and a visage of beauty all in one; Takashi loved her for it, he would never understand what could have seen a goddess like her in a feral monster like him, but he was going to tear apart anything that would dare to even toss a mean glance at her.

The smell had hit him like a train, igniting all his instincts and making his body move as fast as he could, running with all his might to his pack, they needed him, his pack was under attack.

Beast and man working together were a sight to behold, nothing could stand in his way, as he clawed his pass through a metal fence like it was nothing but wet cardboard and stomped, sometimes literally, any of Them in their way, leaving nothing but rubble and pieces of torn bodies in their wake.

One of Them tried to bite him as he runs past a block of buildings and Takashi split him in half with a side swing of his left claw, sending he body to the nearest wall and smashing it against the graffiti that covered the surface, giving the street art a new set of colors and innards splattered over the bright colored graffiti.

Takashi didn't even register it, it was just another nuisance out of the way back to his pack, everything that came close to him, he tore it apart, be it flesh or concrete, it matters little to Takashi as he continued running with desperation hidden in his feral expression. Takashi was not conscious of how his face was slowly turning into one of a beast, his eyes were turning into the golden orbs of a wolf, his hair was growing, covering his back and arms in a coat of black fur, echo of his own black hair, his nails were becoming dangerous claws and his teeth were now fangs; more proper to a predator than a human being.

With this physical changes it did came an extra power to his step, his body was reacting to his emotions; Magnus had already explained to him that emotions were powerful weapons for Therianthropes, that they could extract power from the emotions they felt, for example, when they heal from all kind of wounds, as stronger is the will to live of the Therianthrope, faster and more efficient will be the healing. It works on practically all the powers of a Therianthrope, using your emotions as fuel for your actions, making you stronger, faster, more resistant, healing at impossible rates...and somehow Takashi knew that he was barely scratching the surface of his powers.

Leaving behind a trail of destruction, Takashi ran over the streets of Tokonusu, his steps leaving craters in the street and calling for all the surrounding hordes of Them, but in his state of mind, Takashi ripped his way through them like a hot knife through butter, sending body chunks all over the place. Takashi did not register it at all, he was too focused on his task at hand that he didn't pay any attention to what was on his surroundings, beyond the point of dodging any rubble of wreckage, it was easier to jump over it than smash his way through it. He already discovered that he could lift a ton with little effort when he moved the police car when Rei and he were alone in the city, but losing time was something that did not even considerate, he was in a hurry.

It took less than five minutes for him to reach the spot where his pack was making a desperate stand against a horde of Them.

As soon as he arrived at the location, he saw how the Humvee was stack on some cords, cords that prevented that any of Them could pass to the other side of the improvised fence, however, in this case, it stopped the Humvee that had lost all his traction thanks to the corpses that covered its wheels in a cape of blood and gory chunks, the wheels were trying to move but they were only slipping over the torn corpses.

Igo and Saya were moving Alice to the other side of the fence, as the crying girl was shouting that she did not want to be alone again, Morita with a shotgun and Rei with her lance were covering the sides of Saeko as she dealt with the horde face on and Kohta was standing over the roof of the car, shooting in the head of any of Them that came close to the car. Inside the car, Takashi could see Marikawa-sensei trying to move the car as Hayashi-sensei was picking up all the supplies, meanwhile Yuuki was passing clips of ammo to Kohta so the chubby boy can keep firing anything that came close to them.

Takashi felt proud of his pack, they were doing their best and were acting like a group, covering each other and never leaving anyone behind, even Igo and Rei, people whom he did not trust entirely, not after how they betrayed him; Takashi was a teenager, even under the blessing of the Therianthrope blood and by so, he was prone to emotional burst and irrationality; but now they were collaborating, being part of his pack.

Takashi roared in defiance, a deep, echoing howl that made the nearby windows tremble in their holds, calling the attention of the horde of Them, several hundreds of Them, his pack raised their heads and despite the distance, Takashi could see the hope reappearing in their faces. They were screwed, yes, there was a bloody horde of Them between them and even if Takashi managed to kill them all, it would take a lot of time, time that he was not sure he had, his pack was not immune to whatever these things carried in their veins and about the time he finally reach them, they could be already death.

"Cross the fence!" howled Takashi "I will call their attention but do not let them bite you get to the other side of the metal wires, Now!" ordered Takashi in almost a roar.

As his pack moved to obey his orders, Saeko, Morita, and Kohta covering the retreat of the rest of the presents near the Humvee, as they climbed the metal wires.

With a loud roar, Takashi charged into the mass of stumbling corpses, tearing apart everything in his way with wide swings of his sharp claws, nothing stood in his way, flesh and bones were clawed with equal facility, however, the impulse of his charge was soon stop as the mass of the bodies start to converge on him, dozens of dozens of Them started to grab his body as their teeth tried to bite his body, as a living tide of piranhas they surrounded him, corpses over corpses, pressing down on him like the dead weight they were.

With a powerful jump, Takashi broke the dog pile they were doing in him, ripping bodies in pieces in the process and landing over another of Them, breaking his neck and chest in a shower of gore and bone pieces; never stopping Takashi jumped again, clawing off the head of the nearest one and covering five meters in a high jump, landing over the head of the stumbling corpse of a girl with half the head bitten into hanging pieces. The soils of the sneakers of the body pressed down and once the rest of the corpse head contacted the floor, it exploded like a melon under a jackhammer.

Takashi kicked the one in front of him, sending him flying against a bunch of Them, gaining some necessary breathing space, this things swarmed him like overgrow hyenas after a tasty meat, clearing a couple of meters around him, Takashi suddenly noticed how his pack was being helped by a strange group of person with fire bombers suits; they were using a big hose to flood any of Them that went close to the metal wires that act as improvised trap/fence, blocking the road, however, Takashi; as he beheaded another of Them with a lazy uppercut; noted that Magnus was not around and that put the teenager a little on alert.

If the Therianthrope was not there, means that he found something that required his attention, something that has forced the older Therianthrope to leave Marikawa-sensei in the care of Takashi pack, Takashi knew that Magnus would not have left Marikawa-sensei like that unless it was really important, although, it was a trust exercise too, Magnus was trusting Takashi's pack with the safety of one of his mates, someone that was truly important for someone like him. It was an honor and a terrible burden at the same time. Takashi preferred not to think about what could have forced the Therianthrope to left one of his mates behind, Takashi was not ready to face such a shit storm, or what could be worst, another, older, stronger Therianthrope that could see his pack as juicy prey.

The rage that awoke inside of him after this thought flooded his mind and made him charge against the nearest bunch of Them in his way to the rest of the pack; Takashi saw all red and simply torn them to pieces in a display of savagery and brute force, but his Beast was more cunning than that, and soon realized that they were severely outnumbered, that stood there and fight was a complete idiocy. The Beast was clever enough to focus the raging mind of Takashi into the smell of Saeko; the only thing that could always pierce the rage mist of the Therianthrope, the smell of its mate.

Worry, hope, love, the emotions that filled Saeko were now reaching Takashi, breaking his rage state and allowing him to put together his thoughts and made a run for her.

Saeko had run to one of the stairs at the side of the road was the Humvee and the rest of the pack were being attended by the firemen; with an impressed smile, Takashi saw how one of the firemen was none other than Saya's mother, Yuriko Takagi, one hell of a woman who Takashi had the maximum respect for. Cleaving a way in the middle of the mass of Them, Takashi ran to the side of the road, easily jumping the distance that separated him from Saeko, landing in a crouch over the rail of the stairs, as she deals with the bunch of Them that had followed her into the stairs.

Saeko smiled warmly at him when she saw him land near her, easily crushing the head of another of Them with her bokken, the wooden weapon was about to crack after so many killing hits, it was not designed to suffer such a constant abuse, neither to be used to crack skulls open like Saeko has been using the blunt weapon for.

"Bakashi!" screamed Saya over the wires "we will be waiting for you at my home, don't be late!".

Takashi laughed loudly, it has been a while since she called him that, but it was good, it means that she was still his good childhood friend; Takashi felt prouder of his pack than ever, and answered Saya with a humorous roar that called the attention of the increasing horde of Them from the wire fence, lessening the pressure over the barrier and allowing his pack and the firemen to retreat safely. On the other hand, it only increased the enemies for both him and Saeko, still, the maniacal smile in the beautiful face of his mate told Takashi that it was not a problem in Saeko's book.

Together, they made short work of the dozen or so of Them that escalated the stairs first, as Takashi torn them in so many pieces that all the stairs became covered in blood and other human fluids, making the place slippery, to say the least, and Them were not precisely the most dextrous things there is; if it wasn't for how dangerous they were, seeing waves of Them tried to trek up the blood-covered stairs and falling comically each time would be quite humorous. However, Takashi knew that in time, they will finally reach the upper side of the stairs, trekking over the rest of the living corpses, if anything else, they always had the numerical advantage, and that was a powerful advantage.

Takashi and Saeko retreated too, as soon as the senses of Takashi told them that their pack was already safe and moving to the Takagi manor, not his first choice of refugee, but beggars can´t be choosers and despite all the tension between him and Don Takagi, he will protect his only daughter friends; in fact Yuriko would be delighted to have her daughter around and know more about whom does she pass her school and free time with. It was not a hidden secret between Saya and the rest of her few friends that she did not see eye to eye with her parents ideas and motivations; after what happened in the warehouse, that resentment doubled, as she blamed her father for how she was kidnapped and how Takashi almost died during her bloody rescue.

Together the couple ran into the streets, leaving behind the stumbling mass of Them, Saeko soon noticed how wounded Takashi was and how, despite being able to see how the wounds closed at an amazing rate, he was slowing down, allowing her to match his speed and run together into the nearest safe place they could find. A corner of the mind of Saeko snarled, she was not a bloody princess, she could hold her ground very well, however a more rational one, remember her that Takashi was capable of run faster than a car and could jump several meters in one single jump, leaving her behind and practically at the mercy of those things. Saeko grumbled in her mind, but keep running at the side of her boyfriend.

Boyfriend, Saeko was not entirely sure if that was the case, their relationship, as short as it was, was far deeper than that; she couldn't explain it, but she felt that way, that was was something deep that connected both. A bond that she couldn't explain but can feel perfectly well, like a presence that is always at your side, the warm feeling of having his godly body always close to her was something that made her smile, but there was another thing, she could feel when was he stressed or fearful, a pang in her heart that echoed each time Takashi feel any negative emotions. It was true too, that she could feel whenever Takashi was losing control of himself and his anger was taking the best of him.

She noticed her cheeks blush at the remembrance, his anger, his rage, his strength, and wrath was something that turned her on immensely, a beautiful echo of her own darkness, her desire to cut and maim, his lust for battle and kill all of Them as she could. She sobered quickly, as she remembered that Takashi did not know what she truly was, how utterly despicable her inner and hidden face was; how she was nothing but a rabid dog, looking for blood and pain; at least, she took console in the fact that perhaps Takashi could be the one that could understand her the most, as a person that shared a deep thirst for violence.

Saeko couldn't believe that Yuuki was the one that pushed her into making their relationship a lot more intimate than they have, the orange haired girl was far more knowledgeable and rational than any of them give them credit for, she had a reputation for being...slutty to say the least, that she changed boyfriends like the rest of the girls changed panties every morning. Saeko has discovered that it was not entirely the case, true she was promiscuous, but one thing was to openly enjoy the joy of sex and other was to open her legs to any male in the vicinity; Yuuki was not like that, far from it, it has been quite the revelation for Saeko, to see the girl whom she had any relation with, discuss their common crush on the Therianthrope teenager in such a civilized way, and whats more important how Yuuki had nailed Saeko's emotions and desires. When all of this was over and If she had survived, Saeko would advise Yuuki to act as a counselor and therapist, she did had the talent to dig out the emotions of the people and made them realize what they really want.

Although the sex part of the talk could have been in a lesser tone, Saeko did not know how deep and varied the topic was, no pun intended, Yuuki was very, very knowledgeable in the topic, giving her pointers and how to made her first time a superb one. Saeko thought that both Takashi and her were virgins, however, Yuuki said that Takashi was famous in the streets for kicking the shit out of half the bands in the zone and somehow, starred a porn movie, the best amateur video of the week in a lot of adult video channels on the internet. Saeko at the beginning called bullshit on that, then Yuuki smiled and show her a video on her phone, it was clear that Takashi was the one that was making a woman cry for the heavens in orgasmic bliss.

Not an hour later, it was Saeko the one that was screaming for the high heavens, as Takashi filled her in ways that she believed only happened in the movies; good thing Yuuki found the stash of condoms of Rika Minami, the roommate of Marikawa-Sensei; and she enjoyed every single moment of it. The first time was supposed to be painful, as the penis broke the hymen in the first penetration, however, Saeko broke her hymen during training, alas, her first time was a bit uncomfortable for the sudden entrance of the big penis of Takashi inside of her tight folds, but it soon became unbearable pleasure; although there was a shadow over their fantastic first night together as lovers, Saeko lost count of how many orgasms did she had, but Takashi only cum twice; the sex has been absolutely amazing, but she had a nagging sensation in the back of her mind that she has been not enough, that it was unfair for the boy to please her so much and so little himself.

That line of thought ended with her, going back into the problem that she did not confess the boy about who really Saeko Busujima was, what a monster she truly was, and she felt like shit for it, for betraying his trust like that, the boy has been nothing but good to her and here she was, hiding something from him.

"Saeko?" she raised her face to see Takashi's worried beautiful golden eyes on him "are you ok?".

" _He is worried about me,"_ she thought " _I must have spaced out or too far behind, it is hard to follow his pace, it is fucking unfair"_ she protested inside her mind and smiled at her lover.

"I´m okay" she smiled at him "just a little off, the adrenalin is wearing off after we outrun the biggest horde" she excused and berated herself when she noticed how Takashi slumped, it was clear for her that he was blaming himself for not thinking about her.

Takashi was a lonely child, Saeko could deduct that for what he ear in the school and for what he told her and the rest of the group in the bus, Rikas house and in the morning; he was not accustomed to having a partner, until now, no one accompany him, and it was not because they do not want, it was simply because they can not follow his pace. Takashi was superhuman, hands down on that, his strength and speed were off the charts, so trying to follow him was almost impossible for any human, except for another Therianthrope.

"Perhaps we should look out for a vehicle?, I do remember a bike shop nearby, two streets down here," said Takashi eying the Takagi manor in the distance.

It was a very clear sight on the horizon, but his nose was telling him that they were practically surrounded by Them, they were everywhere and even if he could easily leave them behind, Saeko was not that fortunate, and her wooden sword was practically about to break any second now, judging from how many cracks and dents had all over its surface.

Saeko would have loved to protest, to say to her lover that she was not a dead weight, but sighing, she recognized that it was impossible for her to keep up, if Takashi started to run at a speed that would leave behind a damn car, not to mention it would a good opportunity to have a moment with him and perhaps she would finally tell him what she really was.

"Its a good idea Takashi-kun" smiled Saeko, following her lover into the streets as they clear out any little group of Them they found on their way, it was something that Saeko loved, to share the battlefield with Takashi, even if she had to admit that her weapon was starting to become a nuisance more than a real weapon.

It didn't take much for the young couple to see the bikes on the entrance of the shop and the blood that smeared the walls and the floor near the entrance of the shop, still, the senses of Takashi were telling him that the place was clear, there was none of Them inside, only the artificial smell of the bodywork of the bikes, along a dozen other smells of plastic, partial leather, metal, gasoline, diverse chemicals; for the nose of Takashi, it did smell a little like his own garage; with all the homey smells of his tools and pieces for his bike. Poor ride was trampled over by those assholes that kidnap Saya, Takashi still mourns the loss of his precious bike, it was not a state of the art bike, but he practically made it from scratch and he was damn proud of it, it was a bloody pity that the bike was completely wrecked during all that crazy night, but there was little he could do about it for the moment.

Takashi entered the shop, soon followed by Saeko who kept an eye on the surroundings just in case; and the teenager smiled like a child on Christmas, this was exactly what they need to reach Takagi manor and to put a solution for a little thing that was nagging in the back of the mind of Takashi. Since yesterday, Takashi has been in anything but his ragged pants, his school jacket and nothing else, and even if he knew that as a Therianthrope his skin and growing hair was more than enough to keep him warm and protected, he still wanted clothes, being around in the nude is something that he was entirely accustomed yet.

"Well, let's see what we have here" smiled Takashi walking around the bikes and the other products that the shop offered, as part of a big company group like Yamaha, there were a lot more things in the shop that just bikes, especially clothes and tools.

"You know how to drive a bike Takashi-kun?" asked Saeko curious as she walked to the broken snack and drink machines in the shop and took one of the fallen drinks that have not exploded when whoever broke them, let roll all over the floor. She was thirsty after all the fighting and running around they have done during the day.

"Yeah" nodded Takashi eying the clothes that there were on display and the tools that were loitering the ground, it was clear that Them had been inside or some other ravagers have been on the shop, but they didn't have time for looting, as practically all the shelves were full.

"For what my license says, I am not allowed to drive most of the bikes present but, if you don't say anything, neither will I" smiled Takashi to Saeko that smiled warmly at him and took a sip from her can of sports drink, before she looked at one of the posters on the walls and smile widely.

"I will be quiet, so we could have proper date?" pointed her to the poster in question as Takashi raised his head with an eyebrow raised for the sudden question, until he followed the finger of Saeko and noticed the poster on where a couple was kissing under the dusk, with a very nice bike in the middle of picture.

"Oh, totally" commented Takashi, hiding his blushing face under the shelves as he looked up for a good pair of boots, he had to blurt it out, he felt his arousal raise as he imagined himself and Saeko instead of the couple and in a much more raunchy kiss.

He could not see it but Saeko indeed blushed like a tomato at the comment of Takashi, even if they have already gone directly to fourth base, skipping all the intermediate bases, Saeko had to admit that she would have loved to date the feral boy in a more traditional way; they were going against all what society told, but considering that the entire world was going to hell bite by bite and her little, dark and twisted secret, she could care less about it. Takashi made her feel special and warm and that was something that she needed now.

Saeko wandered a little, she was not particularly interested in the bikes, but perhaps a tool could temporarily substitute her poor bokken, the weapon had seen better days and she hadn't the time to look for another or perhaps a real blade; as much as Kohta loved his guns, she had little to none idea of how to use them, apart of the respect that she had, they were dangerous weapons, after all, even the moist clumsy person could kill another with a gun, even if it was by dumb luck. Chewing on a protein bar from the vending machine, Saeko took one of the crowbars of the shop, laying in a pile with a lot of other tools needed to deal with the bodywork of the machines and other reparations, and with a grimace she immediately realized that her idea was impossible, this things were not balanced, weighted a ton more than her own bokken, some of them even more than the katana her father give to her for her advanced training.

She lifted a metallic wench, swinging it a couple of times before leaving it where she had found it, sighing for the inadequacy of the weapon. If things went this way for long, she was going to have a problem, she was a very good fighter with a blade, but without a blade she was not as good as she would like; not to mention that going _mano a mano_ with Them was the recipe for suicide, as they feel practically no pain and could overwhelm you in a blink. She need a replacement for her bokken and asap; hopefully, the Takagi would have a real blade she could use until she could get to her home and grab her own katana, although, this latter thought was a little of willful wishing on her part.

Wandering aimlessly on the shop, always paying attention to her surroundings, just in case one of Them was crawling on the floor or waiting behind a close door waiting for a new victim, she looked in the direction of Takashi; that was filling his backpack to the brim, even when it was already full with a lot of things that Saya and Marikawa-sensei asked him before they went separate ways in the morning; smiling at the boy, she saw from the corner of her eye, how one of the doors of the far side of the shop was slightly open.

Guided by curiosity, she cautiously opened the door, they were not safe despite not seeing any of Them nearby, and lighten up the lights of the little room, just to found a very strange car, well, it was not a car, it was something akin to a jeep but smaller, like of those forest jeeps that some forest guards used but it had no driving wheel and instead it was a bike handle with some extra buttons and pulls. The machine was completely black in color and had six heavy wheels, the size that she had only seen in trucks and vehicles of the sort. Curious by what exactly was this vehicle, Saeko eyed the panel of instructions nearby, over a works desk where pieces and tools were laying around.

For what she understood it was some kind of amphibian vehicle, capable of moving on earth and not too deep waters with equal easiness, very used in places with a lot of rives and mountains, like Canada or Alaska, were a machine like this would allow the people that lived there to transport supplies to the more distant communities without problems. She could see the advantages of such a vehicle in that class of terrain but here in Tokonusu, she didn't see the utility of the vehicle; well, perhaps one of the forest guards of the nearby mountains bought it and they were performing maintenance here. In any case, it was a curious machine and Saeko was sure that Takashi would love to see it.

She exited the room, walking to where she saw Takashi for the last time and smiled at seeing the boy duck under a desk, leaving some extra supplies over the desk, at the side of the already full to the brim backpack, her beloved was a man of his word and if Saya or Marikawa-sensei asked him something, he would remove heaven and earth to get it done. She experimented a pang of anger at it, Takashi was hers, period; but the anger soon faded as she realized that she had nothing to fear from either woman, Saya was like a sister to Takashi, and Marikawa-sensei has been the only one; apart from his family; that helped him to deal with his unique situation. And even If she didn't want to even think about it, despite all the wonderful sex they had and how they were an item now, Saeko feared that once Takashi knew about how she truly was, he would reject her.

Takashi would call himself a monster, but Saeko had already meet far more vicious and ugly monsters than Takashi, in the form of the man that tried to take advantage of her and she almost kill with her practice sword, even today, the dark rush she felt at the beating she gave to that pitiful excuse of a man, excited and shamed her in equal measure. Takashi, on the other hand, has been nothing but a gentleman with her and all the ladies of the group; except when he became a beast in the bed, something that she loved with all her heart; he worried about them, he fought armies of Them for them, suffered grave injuries for that little arrogant and foolish Miyamoto, saved Alice against all odds, staying on guard and cleaning the entire street so they could have a night of rest.

In resume, if all the monster of the world were half like Takashi, the world would be a much better place.

"Takashi-kun" called Saeko to the occupied teenager " I found something you should see," said her.

Takashi rose his head from under the desk and with a nod, raise up and walked to her side.

Saeko giggled and started to drool with a dreamy expression in her eyes, as soon as she saw him get out of the desk where he has been looting all he considered useful.

There is a very widespread and false cliché about how girls liked bad boys better, more concretely, how they liked bad boys that had a tender side just for their favorite girls and pampered them like a princess. For Saeko it was happening in reverse order, first, she has been pampered like a princess and now she was seeing the bad boy in all his studly glory, and girl, mama Saeko loved what she was seeing.

Takashi had a black gym shirt over his chest; expanding at each step he gave, showing his muscles; over that, he was wearing an unzipped black leather biker jacket with red and gold stripes; he was wearing baggy biker jeans and brown biker boots with metal reinforcement on the toes. Classic bad boy, just for her to enough eye candy to became diabetical.

"Yes, Saeko?" reached Takashi his mate "what did you fouuumph?!" before Takashi could see anything else, Saeko grab her by the neck of the leather jacket and bring him down into a frenzied kiss.

This was not your average kiss, this was a kiss with a very liberal application of tongue, as she explored and tasted every single milometer of his mouth and lips, this was an I-am-going-to-screw-you-senseless foreplay kiss.

Takashi and the Beast inside of him raised a mental eyebrow at the same time but shrugged it off a second later and just enjoy the show of affection of his alpha mate, returning the kiss with equal ferocity, determined to satisfy whatever need she could have at the moment. He has no idea why Saeko has acted like this, but hell, at the moment she jumped at her with that mini-skirt of hers showing her perfect legs and the shadow of her shapely buttocks, he was sold for a make-out session; she was his alpha female, and she will get whatever she wants, whenever she wanted it.

Before he could even think about it, Takashi had his hands on her firm ass, raising her without a problem, as she surrounded his waist with her stocking and long boots clad legs, putting her arms over his shoulders and dragging his head more into the passionate kiss they were sharing. For a minute, they lost themselves in the lust of the kiss, desiring anything but the taste of their beloved and the sensation of the other body glued to them. Unfortunately, they still had to breath and at some point, they separated their lips, tongues still hanging out of their mouths and a thick line of saliva interconnecting them, but were panting and had a misty look in their eyes, as they look at each other eyes, trying to express a thousand emotions into a single moment.

"Wow" whispered Takashi "I love you, Saeko," said the young Therianthrope without thinking, just saying what was on his mind.

For his eternal surprise and not too little arousal, Saeko emitted a very, very cute squeal and hide her embarrassed and blushing a storm face into the crook of his neck; still, she did not lose chance to let her hands roam over the tight and powerful muscles of his chest, feeling like she had hit the bloody jackpot of the lottery, in the love department.

" _Once again, I repeat, if we could weaponize Saeko's cuteness, this war would be already over"_ nodded to himself Takashi as he surrounded her perfect form with his arms, not entirely sure about what the hell was going on; neither the Beast for what matters, as he was only urging to take Saeko here and now; but the kiss has been amazing and this post make-out cuddling session was welcomed after all the shit they had to deal with on the last two days.

Takashi said nothing and just keep Saeko in his arms, his head resting on hers, cuddling, nothing else; even if he right now only wanted to bend Saeko over a desk and pounding her like no tomorrow; they had to get out of the shop, so far there has been no problems, but after the horde of Them that was in the road of the wires and how they dispersed in such an erratic manner, they would not be safe until they reach Takagi manor. Then, they could indulge in their carnal desires till they were satisfied; good thing Takashi had the foresee to get a big box of condoms, something tells him that he is going to use all of them, very fast.

"It is unfair, Takashi-kun" she eeped from the crook of his neck "what you are dressing now, is making me hot and bothered" pouted adorably, raising her blushing face, to look at the amused and wolfish grin of Takashi.

"Saeko" chuckled Takashi "believe me, the sensation is mutual, your temptress mini-skirt and stockings combo drives me mad, but we have to wait until we are back with the rest" sighed Takashi "even if I am trying with all my force of will to do not jump at your bones, right here, right now and have an intense rehearsal with extras of yesterday night".

Saeko giggled and softly kissed him in the lips, she understood what Takashi was trying to say, she would love nothing more than hide with him in a dark and comfy room with a big bed and made love to each other until all the fears and worries just vanish; but they had to get back to the rest, the group depended on them and Saeko loved Takashi more, knowing that he was as loyal and responsible as she hoped he will be. A dark cloud appeared over her mind, she still has not revealed the truth to her beloved, and that was slowly eating her.

"Why the change of clothes?" asked Saeko trying to bury that previous line of thoughts off her mind "don't get me wrong, it suits you amazingly but is far from anything that anybody had ever see you wearing".

"Pragmatism" shrugged Takashi "I don't have your mesmerizing skills with a blade or the accuracy of Kohta with a gun, but I am strong, I have claws more than capable of rending steel like wet paper and the endurance to keep fighting for a lot of time; however that means that I got to get close and personal, meaning I am going to get a lot of injuries, even with my sturdy skin".

"This clothes" raise his arms to show Saeko the jacket "are reinforced clothes, the ones that bikers used to prevent as many injuries as they could in an accident, it is relatively armored without restraining the movement much, just exactly what I need".

"You are dashing on them" complimented Saeko with an approving glare to his lover attire.

"So you do, love" replied Takashi with a suggestive glare to the stockings and mini-skirt that she wore, that left little to the imagination "so you do" huskily whispered Takashi in her ear, softly nibbling in the fleshy lobe, making Saeko giggle and moan slowly.

It didn't take long for the couple to put the vehicle on the road, once Takashi saw that it was pretty much like a big, four-wheeled motorbike, it was easy to drive it into the streets and take a route to the Takagi manor. The only problem the machine had, was his rumbling motor, it produced a lot of noise and it attracted all of Them in the nearby, the city was practically silent after the previous day and after the disaster of the bridge; now totally overrun by hundreds of Them; that means that the noise of the amphibian bike would attract a lot of Them.

On the bright side of things, the machine has enough speed to left them behind quite easily, specially if Takashi step up a little and accelerate when he hit an avenue where she could get a higher speed of the bike, his senses were already picking how Saeko was enjoying the ride, feeling the wind on her body as her hair wildly waved behind her; Takashi didn't need to look back to notice the exhilaration of his lover; it was the first time that they do something together; leaving apart the battles they had fought in the last two days and how they bed together not twelve hours before.

Takashi knew that they relationship was odd as hell, any sane person would say that relationship doesn't work that way, that they were too fast, too quick, to direct; they barely know each other, they had been together less than a day and they have already broken some serious bedlympics records. Yet it has happened, be it odd and rare as hell, be it as impossible as any could argue, they were together and may the gods have mercy of any poor soul that dared to stand in their way. Love was irrational and blind sometimes, and of course, it has nothing to do with the crap that movies and books tried to convey as the image of the correct love; that was bullshit, love was far more organic and changing that all that mess, humans are imperfect creatures that were driven by their emotions and Therianthropes are even more extreme than that.

As much as he suspected that his feelings for Saeko were nothing normal, Takashi could stop feeling that way, so, he will enjoy the ride as much as he could, knowing that the world will always manage to found a way to fuck his day; he only hoped that this time, the world would take his sweet ass time in throwing some more shit in his way, after all the years he has pass submerged in migraines and all kind of pains, Takashi liked to think that he deserved to be thrown a bone.

And the Beast sighed at that horrible pun, it was so easy to make dog puns being a Therianthrope that it was not funny.

At some point Takashi frowned and Saeko noticed his change of demeanor; once they got the car, Takashi was pretty much convinced that it was going to be a quick ride to the Takagi manor, however, they have been driving around for hours, dodging hordes of Them that loitered the streets, trying to make a beeline into another of the blockades of the Takagi neighborhood, but so far it was a frustrating effort; all the ways that Takashi knew were blocked by Them, it was very annoying, and the noise of the car only attracted more of Them.

Suddenly Takashi had an inspiration, and with a sudden change of direction, he took route into the river; remembering what his parents told him about the little earth island in the middle of the river that crossed the city, and how it would be perfect for playing the waiting game; driving down a hill and humorously watching how Them stumbled and feel down the stairs like drunkards, unfortunately, they quickly raise from the fall. It was one of the problems with Them, they do not stop at all, crippling injuries that would leave anybody else on the floor calling for his mommy, only made Them slower, and even if they were slipped in half by the waist, they would still be able to crawl and bite or grab anything within their reach. As ridiculous as it could sound, seeing zombie flicks resulted in some useful knowledge about what Not do in this situation and to pay attention to your surroundings.

With a smile to Saeko; who eyed him with a raised eyebrow a little confused but had the common sense of increase the strength of her hold over the bars of the strange car they were riding; he twirled the car, sending one of the closest of Them flying into a bloody heap and set course into the waters of the river, Saeko gasped as she noticed how the practically fly over the terrain and landed into the cold waters of the river with a loud splash and a wave; as loud the entrance into the current was, it managed to accomplish the objective of setting some distance between them and Them, as confused as the term could be sometimes. Takashi had to admit that Igou was right on calling Them, it would lessen the impact of being in a frigging zombie apocalypse, however, when Takashi became a Therianthrope, or properly said, he revealed the rest of his pack what he was...well, any semblance of normality fly off the window and once it landed, it was torched with extreme prejudice.

Takashi drove some meters into the waters, so the bunch of Them around the place would not be able to follow him and Saeko into the river without being drag by the current and turn his head around to take a look at his passenger, keeping a grip on the handle, so he could keep course into the little patch of earth in the middle of the river. As soon as his brain registered what he was seeing, Takashi's mind; both human and Beast, made a loud and appreciate mental whistle; the waters have completely damped the school uniform of Saeko and being a white blouse, now that she was drenched in water it has become a see-through cloth that revealed the perfect and bouncy breast of Saeko, clad in a black lace bra that only made Takashi drools at the sight.

"Takashi-kun" she smiled and Takashi gulped, there was something wrong with him if a commanding and pissing off Saeko turned him on "I suppose that this was not intentional?".

"No" confessed Takashi and the Beast betrayed him "although I regret nothing" cursing his Beast, that snickered in the back of his mind, Takashi keep driving with his eyes looking at the piece of land like it was a cauldron of gold and said nothing more.

It didn't take long for them to reach the aforementioned piece of land, it was big enough to hold the car and still left enough solid soil to walk around and stretch their legs after the bumpy ride and the fact that they had not taken a break since very early in the morning, between the scavenging Takashi done in the Combini stores and how Saeko had to fight a horde of Them and then run at Takashi pace, a very impressing feat that few would make, only stopping for a little in the bike shop where they had found the amphibian bike and had a quick lunch from the food that Takashi carried around in his backpack. Now that they were relatively safe, perhaps they could grab another bite and have a little of peace and tranquility, it was not good for any of them to be always tense as strings, that would only weaken them as the time passes and her body got tired of the mental strain.

Both teenagers felt for a break, even they are not precisely running on their fumes; most in the case of Saeko as Takashi was the one with enhanced stamina; the constant streets of the survival, especially in such young minds was not something to be scoffed off. In the movies, people always seem to have an inexhaustible pool of willpower and luck, everything happens so fast that it barely had time to settle in, but for the two teenagers, and they were truly one of a kind, all of the shit was something so surreal that they had not entirely sunk it in.

Leaving apart the notion of Takashi being something akin to a werewolf, powerful as one, hairy as one and bestial as one; however, the boy has been showing remarkable control for one that should be supposedly a beast in human skin, as the old tales told the werewolves and other of a similar kind were. Magnus has already explained to him that all of that was pure bullshit, that the legends were nothing but what the humans believed should be, not what it truly was; especially Christianity, that bunch of gits has done a lot of harm to the Theriantrope and whats worst is that none of them got it right, all their sacred texts and tomes about the Theriantrope were a shitload of bullshit about the mark of the beast and silver bullets, that could work in some of them but is was not a universal flaw, not even in a million years.

Theriantropes are truly one of a kind, however Takashi did not have all the information he would like to have, especially about his powers, it was mostly a trial and error kind of procedure that grated Takashi nerves, as he didn't really know what his limits were or if he can even push beyond them in a desperate situation like adrenalin does with humans; as Theriantrope he did share a lot with humanity but at the same time, they were completely different, and he barely had any idea about what to expect or how to react when the situation would call for it.

So far it has been mostly a passive issue; claws, healing, strength, it did not require a lot of him, just instincts and force of will, but as Magnus has insinuated more than once, he was barely scratching the surface, Whats more was into his powers? just the basic package was a very nice deal, he was strong, fast and hard as steel, added the claws and the rage and he would decimate anything in his path. But there has to be more, if Magnus was so insistent in his subtle claims that there is a lot more for Takashi to discover about him and his powers, not to mention how he spoke that morning with Morita and Kohta about what entrails to be part of the pack; it was a conversation that Takashi only hear by passing as he prepared to get what Saya and Marikawa-sensei told him to get.

A sudden sneeze behind Takashi called his attention and he turned off his thoughts to face Saeko and with a mental facepalm, repair in how the girl was covered in nothing but a very dampened; and incredible arousing; white blouse, meanwhile he was covered head to toe in biker clothes that do a very good job of keeping the cold out.

Without a word, Takashi took his jacket and his shirt off, helping Saeko to get her wet clothes of her too and wrapping her in the biker clothes; he keep the girl in a hug, trying to share his body heat with her, last thing he needed was for her to catch a cold because his idiotic stunt with his new mechanical toy.

Saeko was not a defenseless girl, far from it, but being pampered like that and hugged in the powerful arms of Takashi...well, the swordsmistress allow her lover to be such a softy just for her, they had a moment to rest and passing the time in the arms of Takashi, enjoying the slow fall of the night was something very romantic. Zombie apocalypse non-withstanding.

For the teenager girl, Takashi has been nothing but a perfect lover; great as hell in the shack, very, very easy to the eyes, caring, tender, devoted to her; so far he was the complete package. Even with all that Therianthrope crap that the poor boy has to deal with, he has done all he could to make the best of it, and Saeko had to admit that being the lover of a Therianthrope had some very nice perks, if all Therianthropes are half as good as Takashi, still, she suspected that perhaps that was the flaws of being with a Therianthrope, they are so good that they ended with many women, much like an Alpha predator like lions or tigers do. Saeko had already seen how Hayashi-sensei longed for Takashi, how that cretin of Miyamoto tried to reconnect with Takashi; even after what she has done; or how Yuuki flirted with the boy so shamelessly.

Takashi was incredibly popular with the women, and Saeko could understand why, however, that doesn't mean that she had to like it, although, truth to be told, she owned the other two women how she was with Takashi now as an item, like the rest of the school liked to call the couples around. Who would have thought that Yuuki was so insightful about the matters of the heart? or how she was the one that chose the clothes she wore now with a mix of fashion and pragmatism; being aesthetically pleasing and at the same time, giving her freedom of movement during combat, something that considering her style was a must.

Yuuki and Hayashi-sensei had ended being more than meets the eye and Saeko was grateful for being able to meet the two other women even if they were practically competing from the attention of the boy that was hugging her right now, caressing her hair in silence, just standing there for her to have an anchor into this absolute mess. Saeko berated herself, she should confess Takashi what she really was, what she was hiding under the visage of Saeko Busujima, how he was not the true monster of the two of them.

"Something on your mind, Saeko?" called Takashi to Saeko, getting her out of her thoughts; the Therianthrope has noted the subtle changes in her smell and posture and the Beast has snorted, ready to tear apart anything that could have hurt his mate. The Beast was not a patient or subtle being; anything that bothered him was swiftly and bloodily dispatched in the most efficient and gruesome manner possible.

"Nothing Takashi-kun" she smiled to her lover, burying herself into his broad and powerful chest, enjoying the warmth that he was offering to her, the cold waters of the river were nothing but a memory for her now "just enjoying the moment, considering the last two days, I am starting to think that these respites are going to be scarce and short".

Takashi snorted, totally agreeing with his purple-haired goddess; the universe has an ax to grind with Takashi, and this little respite was something that he was more than happy to enjoy as it lasts; who knows when they are going to have a little time for themselves, there was nothing for granted in the future and so far, the future does seem to be quite bleak, with hordes of Them roaming around and his powers still surrounded in mystery and bullshit than in real facts.

Especially now that Magnus has left to do who knows what, Takashi still had a shit ton of questions to the man, even after the talk they had in Rikas house, about what kind of changes had Takashi to expect from now on that he had a Pack and an alpha mate; Magnus had already advised him that he was going to have difficulties to keep his hands out of Saeko and how she was going to be more open to the idea of a pack hierarchy and how she was going to soon establish herself as the Alpha female in the pack.

Rika didn't need to do it, because both she and Magnus loved the clumsy Marikawa-sensei; she was still out of the loop about Magnus true nature, both Rika and Magnus didn't want to scare the shit out of the woman, but now that Takashi has entered in her life like a thunder, the man was just biding his time, until he had Rika back with them to reveal everything to Marikawa-sensei. For the conversations he had with Magnus and Marikawa-sensei, Rika truly loved her roommate, Magnus was already fallen in love with both women and would do anything to protect them; once again, Takashi was not entirely sure how Magnus was going to react at how Marikawa-sensei loved Takashi's pack, not only as her students but as her children during all this mess. She was kind as that, a person too good for this rotten world.

The last thing Takashi need was to provoke the wrath of the older Therianthrope, even with all his new found powers, Magnus was bigger, stronger and possibly faster than him, with unknown tricks under his sleeve, not to mention how he was way more skilled than Takashi at claw to claw combat. Takashi was painfully aware that he had barely any notion of how to fight, not because he did not try but because he was afraid of his own strength and could accidentally kill whoever was he fighting or training with at the moment. Point is, that he could not train in any common gym, not because he believed that he was invincible, any professional out there could have kicked his ass ten ways to Sunday, but because he can not control his anger, his strength and lastly his claws; that would be a nightmare of his own, if he suddenly grow claws and disemboweled his last training partner.

Takashi would have loved to actually know how to fight beyond ripping apart anything in his path, Saeko has already told him that despite his amazing strength, there was no technique on him, and that could spell disaster for him if he was battling something out there that could put together two brains cells. Them are not the only thing they had to be careful for, another packs, survivalist and all kind of broken people will be trying to survive too, and judging by what he experimented when he saved Rei from being trampled by a bus, it was more than probable that all of them would be hostile.

Something stirred in Takashi, there was a smell in the air, something that should not be there, something dangerous, his Beast rise his head inside his mind, he has sensed it too.

Saeko noticed how Takashi suddenly stiffened, covering her body with his arms like he was protecting her from something and raise her head to look into the eyes of her lover, she immediately picked up the alertness in those golden orbs that she loved so much, the danger was clear in his eyes, he has picked up something that has sent alarms into his mind and Saeko shuddered at the thought, what could cause fear, to a boy that can rip steel with his bare hands?.

The answer didn't take much to present itself, when the water behind them exploded outwards and an abomination jumped from the waters, broken and rotten jaws widely open into a crushing bite.

Before she could even register the horror, she suddenly feel a push to the left, her entire body followed the push and got out of the brutal bite, however, her mind was far more concerned with how; after pushing her out of harm; the body of Takashi was left open for those nasty fangs.

The jaw close and the blood jumped into the cold air of the night of Tokonusu.


	6. Baring souls

Saya was a genius.

That was the understatement of the century, no doubt she had her mother brains; brains that made Wall Street fear her like a bloody plague, each time she started a move on the business or in the Value market, from overnight, she turned her modest business into one of the most prosperous business ever. And she did it with nothing but her brains and a lot of carefully invested money in things that no one noticed until it was too late to do nothing about it.

Saya had inherited such mind, unfortunately, she had inherited a bloody temper that made her quite bitchy when she was distressed or worried and right now, looking at the window of Takagi manor, everybody with two brain cells was running the hell out of her surroundings, just in case she bites your head off; perhaps literally. The very few that knew the girl from even her childhood, knew better and just left her to her own devices, hoping that some point her temper will go down and be back to her usual proud but manageable personality.

She may not appear like it, but Saya hated deeply all this situation, usually, she was driven by logic and the knowledge that she knows best, that she had the knowledge and the brains to make a way into the life, even if she had to drag the blasted Takagi surname with her, don't misunderstood her, she did love the financial commodities that came with the surname, but she hated how she was automatically labeled as someone who shared her father views. And she hated all that crap with a passion, her father was stuck in the samurai era, and she was a modern girl thank you very much, all her right-wing ideology was almost like a Yakuza group, in fact, all her wealth possible came from her mothers business sense and acute instincts on where to invest and when took your profits and leave before the ship sinks.

When all this zombie apocalypse shit hit her like a truck, she almost lost it, only her friends; even if she had a lot of problems calling them that, mostly because her own dammed pride; keep her safe and relatively sane, what was worst that was he almost lost Takashi twice; much to her own torture, she still had nightmares about the warehouse incident, she saw how Takashi kill several men and that female monster that almost cut Sayas breasts just for the heck of it and then sent them to her mother as a Birthday present. But what terrifies her the most of that night was Takashi; the one that appeared that night in the warehouse was not a human being, but a beast in human skin that killed anything in his path to get his belongings back.

It may not have been clear at the beginning, after all, it was bloody impossible, but when Takashi killed all those mercenaries and survived enough wounds and bullet shots to kill a dozen of persons, Saya knew that her brother in all but blood was not a human being, that he was something else, something dangerous and predatory that had taken the city as his turf and was lazing around, trapped in the teenager body of Takashi. Saya loved Takashi, not as a man would love a woman, although she had to admit that when puberty hit her and started to take an interest in the male gender, her first wet dreams were of the only male apart from his father; that would have been fucking gross; that she knew beyond his name, Takashi starred some very naughty dreams, Saya couldn't look at him in the eye the next morning and lashed at him even if the boy had done nothing wrong. It was a female privilege, so he had to deal with it.

Anyhow, Saya loved Takashi, he was one of the few that can keep up with her mercurial temper and listened to her, instead of just seeing the Takagi heiress or a sex trophy of giant knockers; like practically all the rest of the male population of Fujimi Academy saw her,

Well, she was proud of her figure, she always considered herself quite the beauty, although when she learned about the Five hottest girls in Fujimi, she somehow feel disappointed about her position on the list, she ranked only forth on that list, of course, she could admit that Busujima-Senpai could be number one, she couldn't be coolest even if she tried, and that Miku girl, that exudes eroticism as she struts around the manor; all the men of the manor look at her almost drooling; and it was unfair to her that she had to compete with the fake twins, although those were already death if she was not mistaken.

Such thoughts, derailed her for her grumpy mood, Saya was suspecting that even if Takashi didn't act like it, the boy was building himself a harem, unconsciously perhaps, but he was doing it, by simply being him. Saya knew how educated and kind, Takashi could be, always controlling his instincts, fearing that he would hurt anyone close to him if he was not careful enough.

Speaking of control, even if Takashi was doing a remarkable job on the matter, never hurt any of them but any of Them that got in the way of the pack, with the pair of controlling freaks that were Sayas parents, the girl was pretty much sure that Takashi and her dad were going to butt heads; most probably literally; as soon as Takashi and Saeko get back into the manor. And speaking of that, Saya was starting to get worried, they should have got into the manor quite faster than this, it was nightfall and none of them has been seen by the watchers at the barricades, one or two blocks off the manor. Even if Saeko was dragging Takashi down, forcing the boy to go at a human pace, together they were unstoppable and unless something drastic has happened when the rest of the pack was not there, reaching the manor should have nothing but a quick strode for them.

The uncertainty of the situation made Saya uncomfortable and annoyed, and that results in her humor being bitchy as hell, trying to vent some of her frustration with anything she could find in her surroundings. Frankly, the personnel of the manor was already more than accustom to the mood swings of Saya, each time there was something that bothered the young lady, in that sense, it was not far from her mother, whose wrath was a lot colder and subdued but far more dangerous. The cold silence and a scowl of a woman with the mind and the power of Yuriko Takagi was something you don't want to be in front of, it was colder than hell and twice as dangerous, especially if her husband was in the room and had his bloody, and very sharp, Katana on his waist; something that happens 24/7 by the way.

Anyhow, Saya was worried, this was not how thing should have happened; not to mention the appearance of Them and how practically all the city was a bloody nightmare of epic proportions by now, but Saya preferred to deal with the present, not with the future, uncertain and full of it as it was, or the past, that was probably stumbling around out there, moaning and looking for some more flesh to bite and infect. This plague was beyond belief, it had not any bloody sense, it was impossible, still, Saya had to admit that her definition of impossible has been broadened a lot in the last day, especially after seeing the real strength that Takashi possessed and how he was partially immune to whatever the fuck Them were. Even with the explanation of Marikawa-sensei, an explanation that had a lot of sense but it was comprehensible how full of holes it was, Saya still couldn't believe half of the things that she saw, both in the travel between the school and in the past, where she remembered how Takashi butchered a group of mercenaries just to save her for a destiny worse than death.

Saya would never admit it in loud voice, but she still had nightmares and night terrors from her memories of that bitch of Mikoto and that bloody knife of her that almost cut her breasts like they were steaks and send them to her parents with a Christmas card. That has been the straw that broke the camels back, until then she was more or less annoyed with her fathers rumblings in politics; Saya was pretty much sure that if it wasn't for her moms brains and economical acumen, her dad would not have been capable of doing half of the things that he has been doing with his right wing group; never paying any attention of the rumors that her father was almost like a Yakuza group, however when she was the one kidnapped and her brother in all but blood was run over by a van, shot to the death like a gazillion times, had to kill five professionals with his bared hands and rescue her from a crazy psycho before he fainted in the spot from the trauma of her wounds, she snapped very badly at her parents.

The shouting contest in the manor was of legendary proportions, and even now, Saya had never really forgiven her parents for all the things they had done; still, she was not a foolish teenager that believed to be always right, she was cleverer than that, and knew that her parents had their own agenda for Tokonosu and the rest of the country, however, when she almost paid the price for those ambitions and what's worst, Takashi paid that price with humongous interest, in blood, she hated all those cloak and dagger bullshit that her parents were doing.

If it wasn't for those Therianthrope powers of Takashi; in Saya's mind it was like some kind of werewolf bullshit of a bad movie but she had to admit that it was very real and amazing to behold when you are not in front of those claws; he would have been nothing but a smear on the road, another victim for her parents ambition. Honestly, she recognized that growing up in such a luxurious environment and the education that she received was worthy of some headaches, was worthy of some annoyances and she knew that there is always a paid to price for everything, but it was Hers to pay, no one else, one thing was to carry with the legacy of her parents, and she would do it, if the necessity arises, and other is to see the people you loved suffer and be hurt by that legacy, something that has nothing to do with any of them.

Grumbling under her breath, and with a scowl that was in its was to be almost permanently etched into her cute features, Saya continued to look into the window, hoping that she would see her friends walk through the doors at some point; she may have to meet Saeko for nothing more than a day, but the horrors of that single and eternal day had already joined together the pack; as that idiot of Morita and Kohta liked to call the group; like they were close friends, and being honest with herself, she liked the cool sword woman a lot more that Rei, the orangette teenager was on her shit list since the stupidity she did by ditching Takashi and run to the arms of Igou. Saya couldn't understand why the hell the girl was so bloody shallow and superficial, she didn't understand why the hell did she ditch Takashi, a boy that has been nothing but good to her, for Igou, especially considering that the latter was the former best friend.

Not a wonder, after what Rei did, that Takashi took distance from them, and now that Saya knew how dangerous Takashi was, she could see the wisdom behind the move, it was not that he was the one dumped like yesterday garbage, it was Takashi Not wanting to kill two of the only people he has ever cared about. Even, if they were a couple of betrayers that deserved to be kicked by a horse and die; as the old saying went; and deserved all the back luck the world could throw at them, for what Saya knew, they owned their fucking lives to Takashi, at last, a couple of times; and please, do not make her start in the bullshit that, that stupid bimbo of Rei did in the bus, as soon as they got out of the school.

Leaning her forehead against the cold glass, Saya sighed and thought about what happened in the bus, some time after Takashi saved Reis ass again, this time from being rammed by a car in flames and another from the explosion of the tunnel that separated the pack, at least the foolish girl had the decency of establishing a meeting point with the rest of pack, something that resulted in all them reunited in one of the bridges that the city had, another nightmare on were they almost lost their lives to a hungry horde of Them.

So far, the entire situation was so FUBAR that it was not even funny, even in a bad flick of zombies there is some sliver of hope, and so far, Saya was not seeing it, especially when the situation started to get worst and the survivors that her parents had sheltered started to realize the nightmare all of this was; it was something that Saya has to admit, she hasn't done either, perhaps logically, but she had not...digested it yet, she needed to realize that everything that she took for granted was nothing but ashes now, or soon it will be, especially when the basic commodities of the civilization would start to falter.

Few people realize how truly expensive and in constant need of manpower and maintenance, were the basic commodities that their houses had. Technicians, laborers, experts, a veritable army of people whose objective was to proportionate light, heat, and water to all the houses of the city, and right now, that same army was in shambles or death at the hands of Them, that surely would be roaming the same facilities that were needed for the necessities of a large population. It has been only a day; and Saya knew that the Japanese government liked to have redundancies in case of catastrophe or sudden loss of energy in one of the many facilities that were around, from the nuclear plant to the electric station near the coast; but in the long run, the facilities will fall, and in case of the nuclear facilities, she didn't even want to think about it, a nuclear plant going boom was never a good notice, even if you are miles and miles away from the explosions point zero; radiation would be as lethal as the shock wave or the sun like heat that the explosion will produce.

Grunting in annoyance, Saya was starting to nurse a planet sized migraine, just of thinking of all the things that the pack would need to make a somehow decent living in this twisted parody of a horror movie that was their lives now; much as it infuriated her, she needed her parents for a starting point, she needed to found a place were her pack could be safe and with relatively good chances of prospering, perhaps humanity, as they know, was doomed, but that was not an excuse to try to raise again from the ashes, and for that, they need to survive at any cost. Something that made Saya tremble and scowl deeper, trying to see if anyone has seen her moment of vulnerability, happy that no one has seen her moment of weakness, she turned her attention back to the window and the thoughts she was having about what they could do from now on.

At the time Saya was scowling like it was her favorite thing in the world, Morita and Kohta were having a moment of peace and beer in the garage of the manor. The mechanic that worked there, an old and good friend of Saya, was busy with the machine of one of the groups that were going to get out and pick up some extra supplies for everyone in the manor, with the incoming of new survivors, they need extra food and other products; part of the men of the father of Saya, were about to move out and into one of the multiple malls that were inside the city, armed to the teeth, just in case they found extra survivors or crazy assholes that had made themselves strong inside the mall and would shoot anything that came close.

Morita has been able to find the secret beer stash that the mechanic had, hidden behind a toolbox that weighted a ton, when they discovered the beer, they immediately took them to a corner of the garage, near the impromptu gun workshop that Kohta has settled to work on the guns that they got in the house of Marika-senseis roommate, both took one of the fresh ones and proceed to drink them; personally, they blame Magnus, he was the one that hooked them into beer, and now they really wanted to have one or two cans at the end of the work. Whatever work the adults of the manor allow them to do. Both teenagers were starting to see that they are not precisely welcome in any serious issue that could arise, dealing with the day to day of the manor and the survivors that had come to cover under the big shadow of the Takagi group.

None of the two teenagers were precisely experts in political science, neither of them cared two fucks about left or right wings or the propaganda than any of the groups of the city had, in any case, they didn't understand half what they were trying to sell them and as teenagers, even in the middle of this zombie invasion, they did care little for those kinds of things; they had more enough with all the troubles that came with trying to survive another day in zombiland; Them were always ready to give you an amorous bite in the balls if you were not cautious enough and they had a pack to care for, even if that pack has been together since less than a day.

Kohta put another bullet into the clip of his assault rifle and took a sip from his beer, the chubby boy was one of those that has changed the most with the apparition of Them, much as Saeko, he was secretly glad that he had known a very cool excuse to put bullets in the heads of any assholes that tried to annoy him, what he would have given for such a privilege when he was bullied by any of those cretins of the school, always smiling outside and really want to bathe in their blood on the inside. But those thoughts were a thing of the past now; right now, he had a very nice weapon, practically green light to use it in any of Them and a pack that need his help, he was really happy now, even if the apocalypse was practically under their noses and biting to rip those same noses off their faces.

"Man, this beer is nice" sighed in content Morita, polishing his baseball bat, now that they have time and some tools, he was nailing some nails to the hardwood, converting the weapon in a very nasty mace that he was more or less competent on its use.

Morita tried to be part of the baseball team, he had the strength to bat the ball to the moon, but he was not that good at hitting the ball when the thrower toss him some curve balls; using that same experience, he was capable of bating the heads of Them with brutal efficiency, and he was glad to be of use; although he needed some Them-smashing skills before he could learn how to properly shot with the shotgun he found in the flat of Minami-san, the squeeze of Magnus and a total chocolate skinned babe that could kick ass and take names like the best of the special forces of Japan.

"You can say" chuckled Kohta, finishing the clip and picking up another one, he liked to be as prepared as he could, and contrary to Morita's shotgun, he couldn't just carry the ammo in the pockets and just pump it up inside the gun when he needed it "it tastes different from the one that Magnus give us in the house of Minami-san".

"That was national, this is American," said Morita pointing to the side of the can, were the letters Made in USA could be seen.

"Uh, didn't see that," said Kohta "still, what do you think was going to happen when Matsudo-san found that he had no more beer in his stash?".

"Sucks to be him then" shrugged Morita "if he fell upon us like the hammer of the gods or he would just shout to the heavens for the lost of his beer, I am going to drink this fresh one and enjoy it for what it lasts".

"You know, that is a very good point" laughed Kohta who rose his can to toast with Morita.

"Any thoughts about what are going to do know?" asked Kohta to the mohawk-haired teenager "I would prefer to left this place but Takagi-san would skin me alive if I even suggest it".

"You thought of that too, eh?" nodded Morita "this place is bad medicine, not that I did not appreciate the commodities, I swear to god that I am going to miss them, fuck, I have dinned better here, than in my own house, the chefs are awesome here".

"As the apocalypse goes, we can say goodbye to wonderful things like hot water and hot meals" grumbled Kohta that was already foreseeing how hard is going to be for a chubby boy like him to endure the hunger that is to come.

"Kobe beef, dude" simply whined Morita "I can pass without hot water, heck, I can wrap myself into a blanket and told winter to bugger off, but dude, Kobe beef, never, in my entire life did I suspect that I was going to indulge myself in a delicious and juicy Kobe beef steak, I am drooling just with the memory".

Kohta laughed at the views of his friend, Morita was one of those rare people in Fujimi academy whose education was paid off, because he was a ward of the state, practically all her monthly incomes went into the school, and he had to take great pains for getting some extra cash in the form of partial times jobs; if the school discovered it, he would have been expelled and put into another, lesser, school. Perfectly knowing, how difficult truly is to reach the end of the month, despite his antics, Morita had a down to the ground point of view that clicked very well with Takashi and the rest of the pack, even if all the girls slapped him in the head each time they caught him ogling them. Kohta was very much like Morita in that sense, all the women of his pack were freaking hot, from the confident and sultry Yuuki to the naive but dependable Marikawa-sensei, but Kohta was way more discrete than his friend at his appreciation of the female anatomy.

Not to mention how both boys knew that practically all the female side of the pack was taken, be it by Takashi or by Magnus, all the women were already with someone or they would like to be with that someone. Takashi was a dense bastard that could not or prefer not to see how he had four women ready to jump his bones in less than a second; but after what they saw when Takashi was pissed off, they could understand his reluctance to get physical with the women in his life; so far, only Saeko-san has the gall to actually ambush him in his bath and ride him for hours, Kohta knew that well, he was the one on guard duty and had to listen to the muffled screams of Saeko-san; the most awkward moment of his entire life, but he took vengeance later when he teased Takashi about his harem of sorts.

"Canned food is not the same, bloody ramen packs are not the same" mumbled Morita, who has been living in that conditions for a long time and now he was seeing that the apocalypse is not that different from his everyday life, but with more blood and bullets.

"We will do, what the pack needs to do" nodded Kohta.

"Dude, we are high on this pack thing" realized Morita suddenly "don't get me wrong, I love this pack thing we had, but when the hell did we decide to call our group like that?, its cool as hell, but I feel something amiss".

"Not really, you are just accepting what you are," said Magnus, walking inside the garage.

"Bloody hell, Magnus!" screamed Morita at the top of his lungs "don't do us that, man!, I almost had a heart attack".

"You were saying," said Kohta not missing a beat and giving a cold beer to Magnus that smiled in thanks at Kohta.

"Thanks, lad, I really need a beer" opened the can Magnus and took a long swing before sitting in the floor, he was dressed in jeans and a shirt that stretched around his size barrel-like torso "it's simple; you knew that you are part of Takashi's pack".

"Well, I had to admit that pack is a cool name and all that," said Morita sitting more comfortably in his corner "but I am not entirely sure if we all are in the same wave, you catch my drift?".

"Yeah, Takagi's" nodded Kohta who flinched for a second, it was not precisely a secret that he had a crush on the pinkette, but her father scared the shit outta him, not to mention, Saya has never shown any hints about liking Kohta as nothing more than an acquittance of Takashi's. It hurts a little, to be honest.

"Right-wing ideology and all that jazz" snorted Morita "can really say I see any difference between them and a Yakuza group sometimes, but I do respect what they have done here, if it wasn't for them, a lot of this people would have been stumbling around and moaning about brains at this point".

"Soichiro is a hard-headed man, honorable and straight as an iron bar" chuckled Magnus "but I am afraid that all this situation is dragging him and his party into something they aren't, not to mention how having two Therianthropes in his manor is going to put him into the worst of moods, good thing Yuriko is around to drag him by the ear when is needed".

"Sayas mom" raise his beer Morita "another of the hottest older women I have seen in my life, how come almost every lady we know is a wet dream made flesh and capable of ass kicking like there is no tomorrow?".

"No idea, I just count my lucky stars and roll with it" answered Magnus without missing a beat, making the trio laugh.

"One quick question, why are you in human form?" asked Kohta to Magnus.

"I have been speaking with Yuriko about Takashi," said Magnus "she needed to know that Takashi is a young Therianthrope of an exceptional breed and he has already claimed his Alpha female".

"Oh, yeah, that" laughed Morita "man, were they loud, Saeko-san is a screamer, didn't see that one coming".

The laughs of the trio echoed in the garage, as they had a break from the craziness that was their everyday lives, especially the teenagers, who, until now, his biggest worry was to survive the exams and now had to think long and hard in how to maintain their pack alive; one single bite, in any part of the body and it's a Game Over, no continues, just an eternity of shuffling around groaning for brains and waiting for the mercy of death at the hands of the next survivor or just by a happy accident like set yourself on fire or fall from such a height that you explode in a shower of gore, destroying your brain in the process.

For what all the pack has seen, the only way to permanently put down for good, one of Them, was to destroy his head, more concretely, destroy his brain; they could endure a shit ton of damage, but a single, good hit to the head and they fall like puppets with their strings cut, one hundred percent effective and tested in the field a hundred of times at this point, by bullets, baseball bats, bokkens, crowbars, and claws. Go for the head, it is one of the few chances you will have if you are facing one of those fuckers, fortunately, they are not the sharpest of the minds, what made them so impervious to most damages, made them dumb as a doorknob too. Good thing, in any case, the last thing they need was a clever zombie with plans, that would be a nightmare on its own, and recently, the pack had more than enough with the idea of Therianthropes to have to think about possible Zombie Lords or something along those lines.

Even separated, the pack still thought about what would be best for all of them, not individually but as part of a bigger whole, that was one of the reasons why the Therianthrope packs had survived to the blackest days of their species when they were hunted and killed by jealousy, petty humans full of delirious of grandeur or grandiloquent speeches about divine rights, beasts of Satan, blah, blah, blah; the usual excuses. Magnus, for example, saw more than one of those, especially during the colonization of the Americas, the Spanish Inquisition and so went the list on. Point is, the pack greed and selfishness was focus in what's best for the pack, not what's best for the individual, deeply root in the brain the idea that protecting and nurturing the pack was number one priority and not the other way around, like it happens in a lot of human families that they leech all they could and then go on their merry way.

For example, if a member of the pack becomes a CEO, all the company will be at the service of the pack, and the pack will be at the service of the CEO, a symbiosis relationship that allowed the Therianthropes to survive in history and from time to time, prosper and grow in the noses of the humanity, that believed so much in science and their own brilliance, that they were blind to anything else.

The pack of Takashi was divided right now into the two groups, Takashi and Saeko, ironically the Alpha male and female of the pack were the ones missing, and that put the pack on edge; and the rest of the pack, namely Morita, Kohta, Yuuki, Hayashi-sensei, Alice, Zeke; the puppy that Takashi rescued with Alice, Kohta named it after some obscure piece of trivia about wars of the past; and if one was in good mood, Igou and Rei could be considered part of the pack too, although, none of the previously named were entirely comfortable with any of them. Their actions in the past, the fact that she almost kills Takashi with her stupidity and the lack of support of Igou, previously the best friend of Takashi, was something that did not click well with the rest of the pack.

Marikawa-sensei was and was not part of the pack of Takashi, it was part of the pack of Magnus, even if she was not in the loop about who really Magnus was, but the giant of a Therianthrope had not put any obstacles to the nurse and her evident attachment to the pack of the young Therianthrope. Kohta and Morita, the only ones apart from Takashi who knew who Magnus/Plushy truly was, swore silence on the matter, letting Magnus do as he saw fit with his own pack; pack formed by Rika Minami, his Alpha female, and Marikawa Shizuka, she may not be an Alpha female per se, but it was clear for the boys that Magnus loved deeply the nurse bombshell. Anyhow, all the pack of Takashi cared about the blonde nurse, if not for the fact that she has been nothing but good on them before and after the Z-day.

Unfortunately, both packs would face a really dangerous threat in the future, a danger that ironically, come from both pasts of Magnus and Takashi, in a form that none of them expected, nor could have foreseen, as it was something new and tremendously dangerous.

Said young teenager was right now, experimenting a very painful awakening after he has been fainting intermittently, for the last couple of hours, after he and Saeko had to kill an abomination that ambushed them in the little island in the middle of the river that cut the city in half, when they were enjoying a bit of peace and tranquility, snuggling into each other arms and barely holding back the need to make sweet and frenzied love to each other.

That sweet moment when out of the window when something that should not exist, erupted from the waters of the rivers and almost chewed off half of the chest of Takashi, along a good portion of his left shoulder and arm, tearing muscles and ligaments like mincemeat, before Takashi could dig his own claws into the side of its head and squeeze until half of the skull of the thing cracked under the pressure and was forced to let his body go.

Saeko reacted with a snarl that would have fitted more a beast than a human, breaking her bokken in one of the sides of the thing, possible bruising or breaking one of the ribs; however, the bokken shattered, as the powerful impact surpassed the durability of the practice weapon, that has been used for something that was not made for, tumbling back a little for the sudden wounds, the thing step into the waters and shook its head, gaining some sense back, after that it growled back at the wounded Takashi and the furious Saeko, allowing the teenagers to see what has ambushed them.

It was quite the shocking and horrid image.

It was like Frankenstein would have created a werewolf, instead of the monster of the Frankstein, there was something very wrong with the thing, his fur was patched and black, not only for all the dirt and grim it has over it, but for the putrid state that all of it had, falling down like dead hair, allowing any witness to see the pale or directly rotten black flesh under the open spots, when Takashi crunched part of its face, the bone creaked but it was already brittle, like it was slowly degenerating and under the cracks of the bare bone, green puddles of pus was slowly forming, the healing of this thing was a messed up thing that works in favor and against his body at the same time. Its teeth were mostly a collection of broken fangs that grew, fall and regrew in all the wrongs ways, leaving his mouth like a twisted parody of a meat mincer, idem with the claws, that hooked in odd directions. It was a visage of madness and putrefaction.

Especially for Takashi, although his mind was way more concerned about the possible loss of a limb and the torn chest that he had right now, forcing his Therianthrope healing factor to work overtime to prevent his death by blood loss, trauma or organ failure. Takashi shut down that part of his mind, leaving the Beast to take more control over the process, by giving it a single command, not precisely a command, but a series of ideas that both shared completely.

Protect Saeko, kill this bloody thing, make it suffer from threatening Saeko.

Said and done, the Beast roared in his mind and his flesh started to knit together at accelerated rate, feeding his powers with his emotions like Magnus told him it would happen; healing as fast as he could Takashi unsheathed his claws from his fingers and starting to feel more and more feral, he charged at the thing, soon followed by Saeko, who even with a broken bokken was more than ready to kill this monster that almost killed the man that she loved with all her heart.

Claw meet claw in a ripping sound that sent flesh flying over the three fighters, Saeko moved like a dancer and dodging a swipe of the thing claws, buried the broken tip of the bokken into the Achilles tendon of the monster, forcing it to kneel and giving Takashi an opening for a devastating uppercut with both claws, shredding the chest of the monster and leaving deep gashes into his throat and under jaw.

That kind of wounds would have sufficed to kill anything on this earth, but the thing was not a common animal, all the instincts of Takashi were telling him that he was facing another of his kind, that he was facing a Theriantrope but infected with whatever the hell carried Them and turned by that same blight into the horrible abomination that both were seeing, something that perturbed Takashi deeply, as it was clear that the Theriantropes were not immune to the plague, resistant yes, immune no, at last, that what this experience was telling him.

The thing counterattack, swatting Saeko into the vehicle and making her gasp for the impact against the hard plastic surface of the amphibian vehicle, and clawing violently the already damaged arm of Takashi that roared in pain from the sudden loss of the elbow, the cartilage was broken and ripped out of his place by one of the nails of the claws of the thing. Even so, Takashi still had his other claw and with a savage swipe, he tore out the remaining eye of the thing, effectively blinding him and almost severing the muzzle of the thing.

Saeko needed a second to recover from the slap, even if she had taken it partially, the strength of the hit was more than enough to send her flying against the side of the car and made her flinch and gasp from the loss of breath when all the hair in her lungs went out; Saeko was not stranger to pain, not only for her practice of Kendo, as a bokken can break bones and skulls quite easily, but for her personal demons, that forced her to train like a madwoman in the private Dojo of her house; but this was in another league entirely and a pang of worry sparked in her eyes when she saw the mangled left side of Takashis body that was taking the hits of those things in stride, answering to them with his own steel rending swings of his remaining claws.

Taking a crowbar from the car, as her bokken was in the back of the knee of the thing, she waited for a chance to bury the sharp end of the metallic weapon into a vital point, she was aiming to bury it, as much as she could, into the brain of the abomination, perhaps that would suffice to put that thing down, them she could worry about the mangled and broken state of Takashi, even with his healing powers, it was clear that Takashi could not follow the pace of the beast in the department of soaking damage like it was nothing.

Don't ask how or why, but Takashi understood the intentions of Saeko as soon as she picked up the crowbar as she recovered from the hit; the Beast was already in control of the body but Takashi could think relatively clearly in the back seat and quickly deducted the idea, with a brutal uppercut that send the head of the thing backwards, if it wasn't for its inhumane resilience, any human would have seen his own head fly several meters in the air and land into the waters of the river, but this thing only groaned and protested and trashed, however, Takashi dig his remaining hand into the throat of the thing, practically grabbing the spinal column and keep with his head raised, ignoring the gashes and wounds that the thrashing of the thing has done on his body.

"Saeko, now!" roared Takashi and Saeko moved as fast as she could.

She ran in a straight charge, dodging the flailing arms of the thing; that even if they were focused on Takashi they were big and dangerous enough to cause her enough blunt damage to broke her bones or shatter her inside by pure blunt trauma; slipping under his guard and setting the crowbar for a straight thrust, she put all her weight behind the attack, using the sharp and slightly twisted sharp end of the impromptu weapon into the hole of the throat of the thing, hole opened by the claw of Takashi and with an effort and a grunt, pushing the crowbar up and directly at the brain of the abomination.

Her efforts were rewarded by a nasty squelch like sound, followed by the crunching sound of some brittle bones shattering and the sudden gush of blood and other putrid and sickening body fluids that made her gag and left the crowbar buried into the body of the abomination, along with the claws of Takashi. The abomination relaxed immediately, falling to its knees like a dead weight, dragging Takashi with him who was in an equally bad shape, blood flowing down his torso, mixing in a disgusting red, green and black color with the body fluids of the abomination they just kill.

The last thing Takashi hear was the voice of Saeko calling for him, and from then on, it was a constant awakening and back to unconsciousness cycle that he vaguely remembered pieces and sounds, his body was already overloaded with the crippling wounds he suffered and to add some salt to the wound, the infection of Them was already doing numbers on him. Between flashes he remembered Saeko cleaning his wounds as best as he could, showing Saeko the basics of driving so she could take them both out of the sandbar island in the middle of the river and being carried around like a dead weight; the worst of it was to see the worried face of Saeko, the fear, the pain in her eyes hurt him more than any wound in his body, although, perhaps it was a good thing, because seen her like that angered him, make the Beast growl and trash, empowering his healing factor up another notch and making him heal faster, something that he desperately needed. He will not be a dead weight, he was the bloody alpha, he protected the pack not the other way around; unfortunately, he was clever enough to recognize that the abomination that had ambushed them in the river had beat the crap out of him, if he hadn't push Saeko out of the way of its jaw, that abhorrent fangs would have cleaved her in two.

Between flashes and blurs; specially when his worst wounds started to mend themselves, sending horrible pangs of pain to his brain; he remembered Saeko to carry him with an arm over her shoulder, moving deeper into the streets, leaving behind little groups of them or Saeko letting him rest over a wall and quickly dispatched them with the broken pieces of her bokken, the last weapons they had from the car. Slowly and painfully, Saeko moved them into an open plaza, letting him rest against the edge of a fountain before she checked that the fountain was not tainted with any of Them and using the water of the fountain to refresh his fever and clean his wounds. His healing factor was working overtime but as it has done before, whatever the hell Them carried in their veins and infected through its bites, his body was rejecting it, sweating it or directly suppurating it like it was pus from an open wound, it smelled awfully but it was a good sign, it means that he was not going to transform into an abomination like the one he has fought on the little island.

With his body cleaned and Saeko nursing him to health, Takashi started to feel more and more like a person and not as a crash dummy with an extra bad day, however, as soon as he recovered enough to walk by himself, a bunch of Them swarmed the place, perhaps attracted by the splashing sound of the water when Saeko was cleaning his wounds or his own grunts when his body reacted like it has been stung at the expulsion of some more of pus or whatever the hell was that thing that was making him weak as hell. Anyhow, Saeko grip the handle of his bokken and charge ahead, moving like a breeze, before the storm hit you without mercy; she moved between them, in a perfect mixture of beauty and efficient killing, smashing their heads with his half bokken or stabbing them between the eyes with the broken but spiked tip of her weapon; Takashi had to admit that he had hit the jackpot of the love lottery with Saeko, and incapable of take his eyes out of her body, just stood there smiling like an idiot, mesmerized by the body and grace of Saeko as she killed the group of Them that had dared to interrupt her treating of his wounds.

But something went wrong and Takashi feel it like a bucket of cold water in his brain, Saeko had just killed one of Them when she turned around to face another group, her broken bokken raised and ready to strike, and suddenly she froze in the spot, her shock and horror was like a beacon to Takashi, those feelings echoed in worry and surprise, forcing his recently healed legs, Takashi snarled and covered the distance between him and Saeko, switching positions with her and decapitating with one brutal uppercut slash with his claws, the tiny body of a little child, no bigger than nine years old. Ripping his yellow raincoat, the hooded head flight in the distance, leaving a trail of gore and ripping vertebrae, as the claw of Takashi carried enough strength to eviscerate a bull.

As shocked as Saeko, Takashi let the Beast took over again, he had just beheaded a bloody child!, but the gray and blood spots on his claws and hands spoke about how it was nothing but another of Them. The Beast did not have such qualms about killing anything in his path, however, he was conscious that his body was not in top shape and adding another layer of damages could be the straw that broke the camels back; opting for a strategic retreat, Takashi took the shocked Saeko bridal style, pick up the backpack that the woman has been carrying to so far from the spot where he has been laying as she treated him and run the hell out of there, jumping over the fence of the plaza and quickly covering as much distance as he could between him and Them.

Gritting his teeth, Takashi made an effort to ignore the pangs of the recently regrown muscles, forced to move at inhumane speed, just seconds after the muscles had just grown, it was like having a cramp and run at the same time, not letting yourself stop and relax; painful, but it was the only thing he could do given the situation, Saeko was frozen, didn't know why, perhaps because they were children; and that made Takashi thought about what the hell was wrong with him that didn't even thing twice about dispatching them like the rest of Them, but the Beast was the one that was in charge and young or adult, it matters not to him.

Call him ruthless if you want, but the Beast know better, and having some kind of moral dilemma was lethal for him and for his pack, something that the Beast would never allow. Morality was something that humanity invented to put a leash on the beast that all of them had inside, it could be tighter, it could be lax, but for the Beast, it was not something of importance, only something that the human embraced to put a very annoying reign on his emotions and desires. Frankly, the Beast wanted it eradicated as soon as possible, but the human part was enamored with all that proper and moralistic reasoning that it was mid blogging. Case in point, how he almost lost his mate at the hands of one of those putrid and nasty things, even if they try to hide their decadence under the appearance of children, the Beast could recognize them for what they were; a menace, and act accordingly to the situation.

Takashi ignored the pain that his entire body was tossing at the doors of his brain, he had important things to do, like run like madman and get as much distance as possible between him and the last horde of Them, the one with the kids that have made Saeko froze; Takashi was sure that there must be a history behind the sudden shock of Saeko, the woman has been nothing but a goddess of war during all this shit, and for her to freeze like that was something that was not normal.

Ok, one can argue that Takashi has only begun to really meet Saeko; even if they have already shared a night of passions that will fuel Takashi's fantasies for years to come; and despite their overwhelming attraction to each other, they only had begun to scratch the surface of what who really the other one was. However, Takashi was sure that Saeko was not one to shiver and cower at the apocalypse; for fuck sakes, she had killed more of Them that any other of the Pack, except Takashi, and along Kohta and Morita, she was the main battle support that Takashi had. Even if each time that she fights, Takashi heart suffer at the mere idea of she being bitten.

It didn't take long for him; sending the pain to the deepest corners of his mind, helped by the Beast as he wanted Saeko safe and out of whatever the hell has frozen her like that; Takashi run and jumped over all the city like it was his own playground, ignoring the presence of small bunches of Them, more worry about the woman in his arms, but alas, even with all his incredible physical might, it finally reached the exhausting point, even the Beast has huffing in the back of Takashis mind, it was too much for them, especially after they partly recovered from the battle with that abomination of the river.

Luck was on their side, at last, this time, and when Takashi finally collapsed, almost letting Saeko fall; but the woman quickly gained foot and rush to his side, worry clearly written on her face; they did in the outer yard of a shrine; neither of them remembered the name of the temple but it was bloody perfect for hiding for the night, it was spacious, had a solid wooden door with a beam of wood to block the entrance and they could ear any of Them that could come close from the other temple entrances.

Takashi was drag by Saeko to the insides of the shrine as she took care of fortifying the place as much as she could; namely blocking doors and doing all she could to make any possible intrusions as difficult as she could; she was still shaken from the experiences in less than a couple of hours, first the attack in the river and how she froze like that when she saw the two children, turn into Them and smiling at her like they usually did…

It was not a secret that she was part of a family of distinguishing samurais and sword masters, in fact, the Busujima Dojo was one of the most respect Dojos of Japan, his father was a famous master that is constantly invited all over the country and beyond to martial tournaments and exhibitions. Her house had an annex that was the Dojo of the family where she and her father taught the Busujima Style to anyone who wanted to learn, and among those were the two children that she saw in the plaza of the Fountain.

If all of this nightmare did even happen, she should have seen the two of them, Reitaro and Kazuma, during the usual afternoon practice, Reitaro was strong but his swings were too wide, leaving him open for counterattacks, and Kazuma was too rigid, always doing the katas by the book. Now, both of them were part of Them, well, except for Reitaro, that had his head rip off his shoulders when Takashi move her out of the way before they bit her and cleaved Reitaros head off. For a second, Saeko felt rage and sadness, Takashi has killed a bloody child, but soon, the part of her that she did all she could to hide from the rest of the world, only felt arousal and happiness for the intervention of the boy that she had offered her virginity to; the dark part of her was delighted, he was bloody perfect, a Beast that complimented her. And Saeko couldn't but feel conflicted, leaving apart how bloody badass the woman was, she was a teenager, with her mind and body tugging in a thousand different directions, still unsure about who and what she was.

In resume, your everyday teenager; sure she was an absolute master of the sword and capable of make supermodels go green of envy, but still, a teenager, with all the doubts and insecurities that it carries.

Saeko carried Takashi to the center of the shrine, lighten and candle to have some light in the darkness of the inside that had no electrical appliances, there was no need for them when it only opened during the day, carrying the candle, she undressed Takashi, grimacing at the wounds that were closing themselves, constantly suppurating a black pus of some kind that smelled as nasty as it looked, with the help of a wet towel, she cleaned the body of her lover, noticing the damages and how red and swollen his legs and arms were; possible for the sudden run that he had to pull out of his hat when she froze in the fountain plaza.

For a long while, she just keep cleaning and treating her lover with all the care in the world, it was a very good thing that the backpack was already filled to the brim with all the things that Takagi and Marikawa-sensei asked him to recover from Pharmacies and 7/11 shops, thanks to her experience treating wounds that are usual in kendo training, she could see that Takashi had all the muscles of his body strained, a lot of them had just regrown after the attack and like a cramped muscle, force them was foolish and stupid; but beggars can be choosers and he did it to save her.

Now that she had a moment, she did ponder a couple of silly things and the consequences of what she was about to do, the easier way to cope with all the madness was to look out for scapegoats, things that distract the mind for the harsh truth, and in this case, Saeko had the advantage of a darker side of her personality that allowed her to deal with the blood on her blade easier than the rest, that allowed her to let her mind wander a little about her lover and what was going to happen from now on.

First of all, Saeko did take her time admiring the body of her lover; Takashi was always hiding his body under baggy clothes or jackets; it had sense, after all, he had an inhumanly perfect constitution; Adonis and Hercules together in one golden eyed package that made her drool. However, his inhuman skills and gifts did come at a great price, she could understand that better than anyone else, she had her own dark side to deal with; she was a prodigy at kenjutsu, a sword mistress that Japan has not seen since Nakano Takeko, although the revered onna-bugeisha was better with the Naginata than with the sword; but such a skill in these times of peace was sometimes a burden. She had always to be careful, an incorrect swing of her arms and she could cause severe harm or if she had a real sword in the hand, kill her opponent.

Second, and following the idea of how bloody hot her lover was, Saeko did though about how it was such a pity that his clothes were already destroyed, even if it was by sheer chance, Takashi was capable of suiting up in a very nice Bad boy style that made her tingle inside; the biker clothes helped him to survive a little, preventing the twisted fangs of the thing at the river to bite deeper, enough damage did already cause, but the sturdy clothes were devastated in the process and once again; Takashi was practically in rags.

Saeko believed it was time to confess to him, he must know that he was not the only monster out there, that she was already a cold blood killer, that she was happy that Them were out there so she could unleash all her bloodlust against Them and do not be worried about the last about the consequences, that she was eager to get her hands on a real blood and feel how the sharp edge would cut and tear those moaning, walking pieces of meat; knowing that she could be as savage and ruthless as she wanted and nothing bad would ever come her way. The Apocalypse was exactly what Saeko's, her deepest desires, cherished, the excuse to use her skills to the limit; and twice the blessing if she had a companion and lover as Takashi as her side.

The creams and balsam did wonders of Takashi, whose body only needed and extra push to be back in business, that and it would be nice some grub, healing needs fuel, meaning, Takashi awoken from his healing slumber, tired, hungry and thirsty at hell, but all of that could wait, ignoring it and the cold sensation of being naked except for his comfortable boxers, Takashi looked out for Saeko, instantaneously relaxing when he found her at his side, drinking from one of the canteens that he had on the backpack.

"Oh, good" he laid back again, nursing the horrendous headache he was sensing in his head, between the thing in the river bank and the run after that, he was beaten, he hadn't felt this down since a lot of time ago, with his powers it was unusual for him to feel tired or drained, but right now, he just wanted to lay down and sleep for the next millennia.

"Hello, Takashi-kun" she smiled at him, massaging his scalp, worry present in her words "how do you feel?".

"Honestly, my love?, like I have been put through the wringer a dozen of times" snorted Takashi "please pass me the water, I am thirsty as hell".

She took the canteen near his lips so he could drink all he wanted, there was no shortage of running water for the moment and they could replenish the canteens in the faucets of the inner rooms of the shrine; Takashi drink from the canteen until he emptied it, his body needed water and soon he will recover enough forces to make a move for the eating rations he had in the backpack; now that he knew that his pack was safe and sound in the Takagi manor, meaning he could be a little egoist and feast on the supplies that he was carrying around; they could resupply as much as they wanted in the Manor and with a dark thought, the Beast commented that he would love to see who was the aspirant to corpse that would want to stop them from doing that.

Leaning a little on Saeko, thanking her for being such a wonderful nurse; making her smile and blush a little; he moved to the backpack and look the insides of it, taking a lot of the food that he had stored inside and feasting on the treats like a hungry beast, something that was not entirely wrong after all; Theriantropes do have a Beast inside of them, the part of them that makes them so unique and different from the rest of the world and that allow them to perform feats that no human would ever do; sometimes not even with all the tech of the world behind them.

Meanwhile, he engorged himself in the feast, Saeko was pondering how to channel the conversation, frankly this was something that she has never experimented, there was a time in the past were there was a boy she fancied but after the incident on when she almost killed a pitiful joke of a man that tried to take advantage of her in the streets, she never found the moment to make heads or tails about her feelings and conveyed them to the boy. Right now, it was something similar, yet different from that occasion. Takashi was different in so many ways from the boy she fancied; he was feral, strong, yet he carried a vulnerability that made Saeko wanting to hug him and never let it go. It was like her own plushy but with dark hair and beautiful golden eyes.

"Something on your mind?" asked Takashi eying her the corner of his eyes, munching on a very bland tasting ration bar that he found somewhere this morning, it tasted like cardboard but supposedly it had a lot of healthy nutrients and vitamins and all that, food was food and Takashi was hungry as hell.

Saeko shook her head and smiled at him, taking a seat near him, Takashi raise an eyebrow and the Beast inside of him, slowly tensed, this was odd, surely she had a lot on her mind; who wouldn't in this madness?, but the bound that they share was more than enough to let Takashi know that something was not right with Saeko.

"Just enjoying the moment of peace," she said, "it has been a very intense evening".

"You can say that" smiled Takashi,

"I...thank you, Takashi-kun," she said moving a little, so she could rest her head on his back, not sure of wanting to face him, right now "you saved my life twice today".

Takashi moved, grabbed Saeko by the chin, kiss softly on her lips and told her.

"And a thousand more times, if its what´s needed to keep you safe and at my side" smiled at her.

Saeko smiled back, blushing and grabbing the boy by the head, she kissed him back with a lot of passion, trying to convey or secure her feelings in one single moment, they kissed like that for what both desired it would be forever, enjoying the presence and the taste of their lover.

Saeko was the first one to broke the kiss, she needed to breathe and her stamina, as good as she was, was not as big as the young Theriantrope; in fact that line of thought brought her doubts back, not only about if she deserved such unconditional and loyal love like the one that Takashi was offering, but if she would be able to stand at his side when the tide comes; she did not delude herself, this were dark times, and the shit has not stopped raining over all the pack. There will be a lot of things to do in the future, but Saeko was not sure, she had nothing to go on, only Takashi, only the young Therianthrope that has shown her that a monster could be an angel. But he needed to know the truth, that she was a dangerous woman that enjoyed the violence too much and could spell doom for him and the pack with her blood-lust.

"Takashi-kun..." she started, separating herself a little for him, something that put the man and the Beast in an alert, this did not bode well.

"I must confess something to you" she said and hugging herself but preventing the worried boy to come closer, if he embraced her now, all her valor would melt in his arms, desiring nothing but the comfort and warm his powerful body offered her last night and she needed to say this out loud; no more beating around the bush.

Takashi sat in front of the woman, knowing that she wanted to say something and he will listen, even if its something along the lines of we must break, you are a monster, you are a permanent threat and a long, long list of things that his teenager mind was conjuring out of fear and insecurity. Must be said that the Beast was laughing his ass off the man, the Beast know better, once, a bond like the one that they shared with the swordsmistress, was created, only death could tear it apart.

"I am not who you believe I am; the Saeko Busujima you know is a facade, a pretty picture that I set to face the everyday business" she smiled without any humor and a bit of bitterness in each single world "the girl that the entire school look up, is nothing but a mask, the mask of the perfect Yamato Nadeshiko, a strong, beautiful and smart woman that walk around the school with a smile and a kind word for everybody".

"I am nothing like that" she hissed, a lone tear menacing to fall from her eyes and Takashi doing the impossible to do not hug her like he wanted.

This was Saeko's confession and he will listen to the end of it; frankly, so far it was way better than he expected, he was internally freaking out about the idea of Saeko abandoning him; her having a mask was something that he could understand very well, he has been doing pretty much the same for years, swallowing his headaches and pains under tons of meds and clenched teeth.

"The Busujima is a family of warriors, samurais that could trace their roots at the beginning of the country, and I had inherited that talent for the sword, I always enjoyed kendo, it was something that I loved and that provided me with a way of letting a lot of my frustration go, but even then, shinais and bokkens were a pale substitute for a blade".

"I liked to have a real sword on my hands, the steel weight and balance is something that I can not but find relaxing and securing, but to be able to use a sword properly, I knew that I needed a lot of practice and discipline, that where my mask as Saeko Busujima was born".

"The smart girl that could defeat anyone at kendo, frankly, I liked the sensations that the duels and tournaments awaken on me, the rush of adrenaline, the emotions of the strikes, the moment of truth were you found an opening in the defenses of your enemy and went for the killing strike, that was the place where I felt more alive".

Smiling with sorrow in her eyes, she looked at Takashi that looked back at her, trying to put as much love and care in her eyes as he could, the sadness and inner pain of the woman was like a knife in his heart too; but he could do nothing at the moment, she needed to let it go, she needed to get it out of her heart and when that happened, Takashi will be there, for what the boy cared, she could be the next anti-Christ and he would love her the same.

"Did I tell you about my first crush?, he was another kendoka, a boy that shared the same likes and who loved kendo too, for a time, I did believe that I was in love with him, but before my heart could settle and I could found a way to convey my feelings for him, something happened, something that made me realize that I was nothing but a monster, how could I confess that I loved him when I was a murderer".

"It happened when I lost track of time in the schools Dojo, I was training along the rest of the team, we had an important tournament in a week and, well, I can see why you were not part of any club; it would be unfair and dangerous; anyhow, Fujimi Academy was always all for the results more than any other thing; that's why Tsunoda and the rest of those buffoons from the football club had such a wide berth, they were actually a solid football team that always managed to achieve good places in all tournaments and events; I am digressing a little, forgive me".

"With the pressure of the tournament, we trained longer and harder than usual, and as Captain of the Kendo team, I had to set an example; before I could realize it, it was late, so I picked up my things and make my way into the train station; that was like, four years ago, in a night near the train station that is nearby the school; a man suddenly grabbed me and pushed me into the backstreet".

"It was clear that he was going to abuse me, but I feel different, I...faked that I was scared, that I feared him, I put him in a place where I could use my shinai in the most effective way; thanks to the teaching I have been receiving all my life, I knew when and where I should hit to cause the maximum damage, swift and easy; I broke his shoulder and arm and I wanted more".

"I wanted more, I swung my shinai once more and broke his jaw; I hit him until he was nothing but a quivering and whimpering piece of bloodied meat in the floor, I would have killed him, if it wasn't from the sudden appearance of a police car; one of the personnel of the train saw the man pushing me into the backstreet and called, the police; they appeared just in time, if not, I would have broken his head with my shinai or would have broken her Adams apple with a single thrust".

"They drive me home, but I only felt elated, I feel alive, I felt great, I wanted more of that sensation, I wanted more, I wanted to go back and this time cut him into pieces with my sword, I wanted him dead at my feet and his blood dripping from my blade. How?, how can I be allowed to love anyone?, when I meet you, I saw something akin to me, but there are differences, you are kind, you are our wolfish angel protector, but me?, I am a monster that took pleasure in the killing, Them are nothing but pieces of meat that I would have gladly cut down...but when I saw the children I trained in my houses Dojo, well, I froze".

"With Them, people are killing each other, but I knew since the beginning that I was still the same, a sword that could only spill blood, that´s the only thing I am worth off".

"Saeko" interrupted the rant of the woman Takashi with a tone that demanded attention "my love, is that all? that is what has been bugging you all this time?".

"All!?" she couldn't but shout the woman at the dismissal "I would have killed a person, I wanted to kill a person, Them are just excuses, convenient excuses so I can swing my sword all I want without worrying about consequences, that's Saeko Busujima true self".

"You would have killed him" stretched the phrase Takashi "I have already killed eight persons and I am not speaking of Them, I killed eight persons before any of Them even show up in Tokonusu".

Saeko shut up, this time she was the one listening to the tale.

"Its no secret that I was involved in some kind of kidnapping attempt that a group of mercenaries made on Saya to hurt her father" shrugged Takashi, that at this point, and in no little part thanks to the Beast, was way beyond any regret of what he did; somebody hurt Saya, somebody ended in the morgue; simply as that.

"And because of that, I ended in the hospital for a couple of days, you have already seen what I can do, how fast do I heal and how strong I am, not to mention my claws; so what do you think it really happened?" snorted Takashi, moving so he could hug the astonished girl, it was mostly for him than for her, he needed his war goddess at his side.

"They ram a van over my, shot a zillion of bullets on me, and when I got up, I run for miles until I found them and butchered them like cattle; in front of the eyes of Saya, that's the only think I believe I regret; my claws can tear steel, human flesh was no rival for them, I rip their head off their bodies, disemboweled them, rip their hearts out of their chests, twist their necks until their necks look like loosen screws and when I put my hands over the asshole that was threatening Saya, I rip her arms off her body".

"You are feeling guilty because you almost commit a murder; that you almost killed the waste of space that almost raped you; I, on the other hand, I am a murderer already, and you know what? if I could have put my hands on that living stain that ambushed you, I would have shoved his own head up his ass".

"I love you Saeko, the Beast inside of me can only drool when we see you fight, when you dance in the middle of the battlefield, smiling and daring any of Them to come and fell under your weapon, I fell in love with you each time you stand at my side, weapon ready and eyes shining in battle lust..."

The next words of Takashi died in his tongue, when Saeko kissed her, putting her tongue inside of his mouth, hugging him, her hands roamed his muscular body, her hips stranding him, rubbing against the growing tent in his boxers that threatens to rip the piece of cloth, as Takashi's manhood was raising in response at the ministrations of Saeko. Mentally sweat dropping, Takashi send it all to hell, and put his hands in the perfect ass of Saeko, guiding the rubbings of the lustful woman and positively making both of them feel really good.

Before they can even think about what the hell has happened, their clothes had disappeared and their grunts and moans echoed in the closed halls of the shrine, like it happened in Rikas house, the passion has taken the control of both teenagers and let them only feel pleasure and their bodies joined together, exploring each other sensitive points and dishing even more pleasure to their partner, until only the pleasure and the lust was the only thing that had place in their brains.

They forgot about their worries, nothing mattered right now, but the person in their arms. For Takashi, the beauty of Saeko went beyond the pale and delicious flesh that squirmed under his fingers and lips, his tongue explored each nook and cranny of her breast and velvet folds, founding that spot that made her moan louder and smile with clenched teeth, unable to focus on anything that it was not the waves of pleasure that came from her groin. For Saeko, it was steel and velvet all in one, like a scabbard of the sword she was, Takashi was strong enough to hold her and at the same time keep her warm, comfortable and protected; each time he thrust in, his manhood filled her to the brim, provoking lewd noises of all kind from her.

Like an addiction, they couldn't get enough from each other, the taste of their lips, the taste of their flesh, the taste of the fluids that the throes of passion provoked when lovers reach the peak of the pleasure; there was something primal in their coupling, something frenzied that force them to go and beyond in the task of pleasuring their partner, although, and once again something unfortunate, as the pleasures of the flesh occupied the night, it was Saeko the one that again and again, had to muffle her screams with the lips of her lover, each time an orgasm hit her brain like the hammer of the gods. She knew that Takashi was experimenting pleasure too, the grunts and how he kept repeating her name like a mantra full of love was an absolute proof, but he has only filled one of the condoms, and even if she was already feeling like fainting by sheer pleasure, there was nothing that indicated that he was going to cum soon.

The lovers keep pleasuring each other, long ago forgotten all worries and thoughts that have been plaguing them during all the long and tiring day; the echoes of flesh against flesh, the wet sound of meat entering in a lubricated space, eager and tight for the entrance of her favorite piece of meat in the entire world; but it has to end at some point, when the passions were sated and the lovers embrace each other for a well-deserved rest.

Sitting on the floor, with his bare back leaning against the altar, Takashi softly caressed the purple locks of Saeko, as the woman sleep, completely exhausted for the long day and the frenzied mating; honestly, considering what they have done; fucking like rabbits would be putting it mildly; that put an end to the events of the day. She was smiling like an angel, happy to actually found a man that could, not only understand her but actually love her with all his heart.

Absently, Takashi looks out for his cigars, there must be somewhere in the backpack, and after trashing a little the contents of the backpack, he finally took a box of it and with the teeth, took one and lighten it with the new candle that he set on the altar of the shrine, after the previous one melted during the time he was making sweet, sweet, love with his lover. He has gotten laid, again, twice in two days, well, it does seem that Karma was actually coming for good in his way; about bloody time. Being with a woman you love was way better than he could imagine, not that he had much to compare in that department, as the only other time that he got laid was so high that he could not remember a thing for his dear life, and even if he found a copy of the video, he would possibly burn it out of embarrassment. Somethings are better cremated and buried, even if the bloody Beast inside of him was patting his back in approval, furry bastard.

Anyhow, it was a good thing Saeko and him have cleaned the air between them, it was clear to Takashi's senses that the woman was worried about something, and he couldn't do a thing until she openly tells him, apart from being there for her and do all he could to keep her safe and happy; pretty much like any person would do for its loved ones. In this zombie nightmare it was even more obvious that he was going to work his ass off to keep his pack safe; even if he knew that they could and will support him, for Takashi it was not a matter of logic, but a matter of heart, much like he almost had a heart attack when Saeko told him about the other guy she loved in the past. That was the moment that really made his heart falter in all the tale; that and the mere idea that a waste of space tried to take advantage of her when she was a fourteen years old, for fucks sake, that was disgusting; he was glad that Saeko defended herself so well, and for what he cared, she should have dispatched that little shit.

Still, the absence of worry about the bloodthirsty personality of Saeko did surprise him a little, in less than a couple of days his personality was doing a one-eighty; he could barely recognize himself sometimes, but the Beast was there, telling him that it was totally normal, the world has gone to hell in a basket and he was adapting, not only to this new ruthless world but to his own, unique, circumstances that made him, truly a one in a million. Being honest, Takashi would have preferred to be a normal teenager, but that line of thought died quickly when Saeko grumbled in her sleep and snuggled into his abs, hugging him like a big plushy.

Yeah, if he was a normal teenager, he would have never survived the bite, neither found his own personal goddess of war; he really should talk with Magnus about the overwhelming emotions that they were experimenting for each other; this was way off the charts, people don't feel in love like this, that's something that only happens in romance novels and the sort, not something that happens in the real world. Zombies or Therianthropes either, but that was a completely different can of worms that Takashi didn't even want to open right now; he had more than enough with his actual problems and responsibilities to ponder about the absurdity of what's happening in the world right now.

A bio-weapon that gone south? fucking magic? he didn't care, he will do all he could to keep his pack safe and in the moving to a safe place.

Perhaps one of the castles in the mountains, those were emptied this time of the year; with luck, there will be some friendly survivors, if there was no luck and were just a bunch of ravagers, he and Magnus would dispatch them quickly and made a living from the fortified place. He was pretty much sure that unless Marikawa-sensei would abandon the pack, Magnus would accompany them whenever they could go.

Takashi feared the older Theriantrope, it was clear that he was a monster in all sense of the world, even if his rantings about being a thousand years old viking were nothing but ramblings, the physical power of the man, the pure, raw, force of his Beast was something that Takashis Beast could recognize and respect; that being told, it was actually a good thing to have someone like him around; he could be an extra pair of hands and could help him to understand his powers better, although the lazy bastard has not done a good job in that department so far.

Perhaps because he could not move freely around Marikawa-sensei, trying to keep his cover until they are reunited with Magnus alpha female, Rika Minami, the roommate of Marikawa-sensei for years and possibly her best friend since the university. Anyhow, it was unfairly convenient for the man, to just lazy around in his furry form, just keeping Marikawa-sensei safe and accompanied; not that the older Therianthrope did not trust in Takashi's pack, otherwise he would not have allowed Marikawa-sensei to move with them, but it was clear what his priorities are, and now that Takashi had his own pack and Alpha female, he could understand it perfectly well. He would burn the world thrice times to keep any member of his pack safe; it was a feral, animal-like instinct that erupted from his very soul, both man and Beast united in that sentiment.

Speaking of the devil, lately, the Beast and him had started to become more and more united in their purpose, the first time, they were at odds, cooperating but with different points of view; now they were slow but steady acting like in unison and seeing the results, it was clear that it was a good thing; another thing that he had to run with Magnus as soon as he could have a chat with the tall man; even if his human form, Magnus was a monster of a man of eight feet, and a body that could leave a bodybuilder like a slender ballerina; Takashi hoped he would not become like that, he was perfect as he was right now.

He let a cloud of smoke float in the air of the room, taking good care of do not bother Saeko as she slept, last thing she need was to breath the smoke and awake in a coughing fit; but Takashi felt like he needed a cigar, and thanks to his awesome healing factor or whatever the hell made him heal from everything at astonishing speeds, he would never have to worry about any lung problems for his little smoking habits. It started as way to dull his senses enough for him to act like any other person and do not have a massive migraine for the rush of information, but at the time passed it became more than just an excuse and became a habit; thanks to his powers stabilizing themselves finally, he kept smoking in a lot lesser quantities, more for habit and taste than for real need. And these cigars were actually pretty good, who knew, Rika and he shared the same tobacco brand.

He eyed the two used condoms that were tossed to the sides, he had only cum twice during all the love making, not that he did not put all on his part, but he had to be careful or he could hurt Saeko if he grabbed her to strongly or thrust too hard into her, broking her pelvis or wounding the insides of her vagina with his brutal penetrations; good thing the condoms were extra forte and thick; Rika knew what she did when she bought that brand, after all, Takashi has picked up an entire box of condoms from one of the pharmacies, the same brand that he used in Rikas house; if the woman had those around was because it was perfect for rutting with a Theriantrope.

However, it was clear that at this rate, Saeko is going to kill herself by trying to keep her pace in the bed; for once, his physical enhancements were not as cool as they sound, with a stamina like his he could be at it for hours and Saeko, despite her eagerness, could not; perhaps if she was enhanced too, or she was another Theriantrope, that would be an entirely different story, however, Theriantropes are born not done; anyhow, there could be a way to enhance her so she could be safer in the field and keep up with him in the bed.

That or adding more women to the bed…and there go all the ideas of Takashi of actually starting to be eye to eye with his Beast.

He had not a harem, and then he remembered the conversation with Kohta the previous night and almost choked with his cigar; why on earth was his life that complicated?, he was happy with Saeko, he was going to be loyal to her, no matter what. Still, Takashi would admit that Yuuki open flirtatiousness with him and her boldness was something that enticed him, not to mention how Kyoko-sensei has been one of his oldest crushes; the redhead woman, even in his thirties was an absolute bombshell that starred a lot of wet dreams of Takashi, when his Beast and him were practically at war every night. Thing is that he would recognize that, as any normal, hormonal, teenager, he had a lot of crushes and felt, indeed, attracted to the female form; but one thing was that and other completely different was to cheat on Saeko, he will neuter himself with his own claws before that.

The Beast concurred with Takashi, that shocked him, but added that perhaps it would not be a problem, if the ladies simply shared him; after all, he was the Alpha of the pack, and Magnus has already explained to him that the libido of a Therianthrope was always off the charts, add that to his own teenager status and it was a bloody miracle that he has been enduring it for so long; of course, founding a soul mate like Saeko was worth of it, a thousand times.

Snorting inside his mind at the thoughts of the Beast, even if he was starting to get problems to differentiate one from the other, but from time to time, the damned furry had to open his mouth and drop a pearl, like these; well, not exactly, the Beast did not spoke, just imagine or send thoughts into the mans mind...it was fucking complicate and truth to be told, Takashi didn't give two craps about how did the system works, it was like that, period. There were better things to do, like cuddling with his amazingly beautiful mate.

And he proceeded to do exactly that.

Even if they were in a safe place and still high in post coital happiness, at the night passed, Takashi, whose senses were way over the human limits, couldn't but pick up subtle sounds here and there; his nose was still a little clogged with the smell of sex that practically permeated the room, but his ears and eyes were more than enough to keep him in alert, just in case some of Them wanted to play and managed to enter into the inner shrine and screw up their night, for the boy was a tense night; going in and off of sleep at the sounds that the night carried.

From the whisper of the wind over the leafs, the sudden and far away groans and shuffle of feet, the occasional sound of metal or plastic cracking; the fence of the nearby house clacking against his lock after Them entered in it, fires in the distance, still burning from the madness of this last two days. At some point he was convinced that he eared gunfire; possibly another survivor trying to live another day.

When they were on Rikas house, he saw a lot of deaths from the balcony, some of them were armed people that were surrounded and bitten to shreds, it was more than probable that his ears were picking up that kind of sounds; he could always pinpoint Saeko with his senses, her smell was something that he could not block; nor that he wanted to do it; and right now, his nose was practically drowning itself in her post coital smell, her sweet sweat and spicy release was; despite how strange and disgusting that it could sound; something that boggled Takashis mind, fortunately, his eyes could wander from her gorgeous sleeping from to the upper windows of the shrine and his ears were more than capable that listen to her deep and relaxed respiration and at the same time, pick up all the aforementioned signals from his surroundings.

Who would have thought that at some point he would be glad of having such sharp senses? when he has been all his infant and teenager years suffering constant pains from those same enhanced senses that right now were the perfect blessing to keep his pack safe and sound.

His body was still a little sore and tired, in part from the beating and damages he got from that abomination at the river little island where it attacked them, and in part for the aftermath and the savage rutting with Saeko; he could be a stamina freak but he has painfully discovered his limits and how he was notable more resilient to the infection that he thought he was. Still, he was not deluding himself, when he battled that abomination, it was clear for his Beast and him, that it was another Therianthrope, and that means that he could transform into one of Them, it was only needed more bites than usual. Takashi didn't want to know how on earth did that Therianthrope transformed, but his Beast was sure that he was after him and Saeko, he was after Theriantrope blood and female flesh; who knows why or for what, but the thing was after their throats with all he had.

Fortunately they killed the abomination together, ideally, Takashi would have love to torch that thing apart, just in case his healing factor managed to save his...well, un-life or whatever the hell the thing that transforms people into Them did, the last thing they needed was a hungry thing like that after his packs ass; it has been hard enough to deal with one, a pack of those things would be material for enough nightmares. That lead to the question of why has he been able to fight the infection?, why did the other Theriantrope turn and why Takashi did not?; for the moment, and at risk of sound bigoted, it was a matter of lineage; Magnus has already told Takashi of his exceptional breeding, something that surprised him a lot, consider that his family was fairly average; relatively well connected and wealthy; otherwise he would not have been attending Fujimi Academy, but nothing that out of the ordinary; if his parents knew anything about Theriantropes they would have helped him during all the years he passed suffering, not understanding what the heck was wrong with him.

Not his brightest moment but there was nothing he could about it, or would have been, if there was another friendly Theriantrope in the surroundings; key word, friendly, the only other Theriantropes Takashi has ever met in his life were the bastard that almost ripped him a new one when he was nothing but a child, and Magnus, that so far has been tremendously helpful, even if he was a lazy and cocky bastard half of the time the other a lazy and cocky big dog that swag his tail after Marikawa-sensei. On a side note, and as a fellow hot-blooded male, Marikawa-sensei, truly was an angel on earth.

As the night passed, and Takashi put off the last bit of the cigar, joining Saeko for a tense sleep; at last for him, she was sleeping with a satisfied expression that made Takashi really proud; and keep resting as much as he could, he knew that the horrors have not even begun to get hardcore, if the encounter with the abomination was an indicator; following and old saying, what happened once, could happen twice; so Takashi rested as much as he could, waiting for the morning sun and ready for anything the would could throw at him this time.

Still, he believed the Abomination was a little too much, he should have known better, to never, ever mess with Karma, god or whoever was the Joker that was running this show, as usual, everybody was so fucking scared, that everyone has forgotten how does one laugh.

Inevitably, morning came, the sun filtered through the open spots in the shrine, something that helped to clear the air from the inside; it would be logical after all the incense and all things that were usually used during all kind of ceremonies; Takashi was not precisely the most faithful of the persons, so he had not much an idea of how did it work apart from what he saw on TV. The day started with a slightly chilling breeze, not really a surprise considering the season of the years, but it would soon change into a sunny day; or at last that was what the Forecast said in the TV; soon it would be harder to get some nice digs from the incoming winter, Tokonusu was a city that had blizzards from time to time and without a proper heating system, it could be dangerous for the pack.

The sun started to filter into the inner temple, bathing the sleeping naked teenager with their rays and making Takashi open an eye, to observe the soft yellow rays of sunshine slip inside and over their bodies; at some point during the tense sleep that he took, he moved and snuggled closely to Saeko, that hugged his waist and adorably drooled a little over his abs; swallowing a laugh with a choked snort, she was bloody adorable when she was like this, resting in his lap, sharing her warmth with him; in any other circumstances, Takashi would be more than happy that stay like this forever, but they had to reunite with the rest of the pack, that was waiting for them at Takagi State.

If Takashi was right, it was not a long walk from here, the shrine was relatively close to Sayas house, but the real problem was the hordes of Them that would be in their way, Takashi was not in the mood for losing hours by cleaving a path in the middle of Them, that would be only a drag and would call the attention of even more of those bastards into the nearby state. If what Takashi suspected, judging from the team that helped his pack in the metal fence, the state would be filled to the brim with survivors, all under the big shadow of Sayas father; and that was the problem in Takashi's mind, Soichiro Takagi was practically a bloody modern shogun, he was not one to care three fucks about people under him, unless they were his valuable retainers, namely, those that serve under his banner.

Okay, Takashi could be a little hypocritical here, specially considering that he would torch the world in kerosene with a smile, if any of his pack was harmed, however, he was not entirely a monster, if he could give a hand and means no harm to his pack, then he would have no problems in doing it, but, he had the nagging suspicion in the back of his mind, that was going to butt heads with Shoichiro Takagi. There can not be two alphas in the same pack, Magnus did not count and he was not part of Takashi's pack and was only there because he was following Marikawa-sensei; Takashi was happy to have the older Therianthrope around?, yes, would the older Therianthrope do shit for his pack?, tricky question, he would defend the pack if that means Marikawa-sensei would be safer.

Theriantrope mentality in all its glory, but, for Takashi it was not a bad thing, practically the entire world would be slowly turning into that mindset, getting back to a more primal and savage mindset, specially when the commodities that the entire modern world give for granted started to fail miserably; running water, electricity, heating, those kinds needs a lot of maintenance, and the workers that keep that things running and well, have families and would prefer to be with their families than risk their necks for nothing, in the factories that it would be more than probable that would be plagued with Them. It was a problem for a later date, but Takashi would enjoy the commodities as long as they last.

"Waky, Waky, sleepyhead" whispered Takashi to Saeko as he rubbed her chin, it was morning and they should be on the move, there was a lot of terrains to cover and the advantage of sunlight was too good to waste it, Takashi had enhanced senses, Saeko did not.

"Uh, morning my love" she yawned cutely and stretched, allowing Takashi to have forever engraved in his mind, one of the most beautiful sights he has seen in his entire life, good thing his morning wood was already deflated or it would be at full mast with the image.

"Morning, Saeko" smiled Takashi as inside his mind, he and his Beast were drooling a river "come on love, we have to reunite with the rest of the pack".

Quickly dressing and repacking all the things they used during their stay at the shrine, Saeko and Takashi discovered a couple of things that did miss during the night; there was an inner room, with a bed that they could have used, and there was a real blade resting in the main shrine; when Takashi saw the sword, he immediately picked it up, Saeko did need a new weapon after her bokken was broken against the abomination of the river, and this blade, seriously hoping it was not some kind of ceremonial blade with no real use, would do it nicely.

Reuniting with his lover in the wooden entrance, Takashi offered the blade to Saeko who eyed it with surprise, not expecting to find a real sword anywhere close and practically resigning herself to the crowbar she found among the things that Takashi picked up in his backpack.

"Use it, Saeko," said Takashi offering the blade to her that extended her hand but doubted "you need a real blade, you need a weapon to defend yourself against Them".

With a sad and warm smile, Saeko picked up the blade and examined the edge, much to her surprise it was a perfectly functional weapon with a blade more than capable to cut flesh and bones; that was incredible unusual here, weapons like this are not abandoned like this, much less in a place like Japan with severe anti-weapons laws, but perhaps it was a ceremonial blade or the blade of the family that took care of the shrine; she felt conflicted as she knew that what she was doing was not the most honorable thing, but alas, survival comes at a great cost and she hoped the real owners of the blade would ever forgive them for stealing the beautiful sword.

With a push, Takashi opened the wooden doors of the temple, letting both of them exit from the inside to the clean and fresh air of the morning, smiling at the sun, Takashi stretched and soon frowned with the smells and sounds of a dozen of Them filled his nose and ears; they were in the stairs and sides of the shrine, how on earth had they managed to get so close that something that worried and annoyed Takashi a lot. He was about to claw them to Kingdom come but then he noticed that Saeko was eying the shrine priest girl, obviously one of Them; it was surely the one that lived in the dojo and now, Saeko was carrying her weapon.

Embracing Saeko, much to her surprise and no little arousal, Takashi grabbed her by the breast and the waist, fangs in the open and his breath softly whispering in her ears.

"Saeko, I fell in love with both of you, the woman I meet at Fujimi and the goddess of war that fight at my side" he said "I will love you the same, now, I want to see and feel in love, again, with the woman that dances in the battlefield, whose blade is so mesmerizing that I can not get my eyes out of her; you are my Alpha woman Saeko, nothing would ever change that, no matter how much blood do you have in your hands, I will be at your side".

Letting her go, Saeko turned around and kissed Takashi, this time with a determined and warm smile, the smiled of a lover.

"Thank you, my love," she said, before stepping into the open yard of the temple and put her hands on the handle of the katana at her waist.

Takashi knew that Saeko was good with a sword, he has already seen her as she trained and despite not having a lot of knowledge in martial arts, his Beast was more than enough to tell him that she knew her work around a blade; her posture, her breathing, the tensing of her muscles, everything was coordinating to perform flawlessly; but one thing was to see her swinging around a piece of wood or bamboo; like the bookens and shinais are made off; and another thing entirely was to see her unleashing all her repressed desires to battle with a real, sharp blade in hand.

It was not mesmerizing, it was like seeing a force of nature at work; taking a step back, as the few of Them that has escalated the stairs were converging around Saeko, Takashi observer his Alpha woman deal with those nuisances, she was exactly what he expected he was; comparing her with a goddess of battle was not entirely out of the table, not to mention that for Takashi, Saeko was Aphrodite and Athena all in one; her body was made of temptation and her blade was made of war; each swing was a casualty, never losing the wide smile in her mouth, with her eyes, slightly glassed from the release of her darkest instincts of cut and slash at these things.

But for Saeko, there was a bonus that was better than any other thing in the world, and it was the presence of her lover behind her; not scared, not disgusted, loving her as much as he did before he need her thirst for blood and battle, now that was high that she was drowning herself in, her katana beheaded another one of Them, sending the head spiraling down the stairs, she kicked the body out the way before slicing the head of another one of Them into two parts, recovering her blade, she dodged and stabbed the back of the head of the third one of her victims.

It was clear that she was toying with all of Them, the dozen or so of those things that had stumbled upon the stairs were unable to surround her, she moved; or danced in the eyes of Takashi; out of their reach, only her blade meeting their attacks and they were chopped into pieces with each counterattack of Saeko, losing pieces of their bodies as she dealt with Them in an efficient and quick manner.

Takashi, on the other hand, was gladly enjoying the spectacle, both him and the Beast were ogling the gorgeous woman as she cut and cleave a path among Them, both human and the Beast shared the same thought, that they were indeed lucky in the love department, being able to fall in love with such an exceptional woman like Saeko; she was all their prayers made flesh; a worthy Alpha woman indeed, not to mention her supposed dark side or some among those lines was something that neither the Beast, nor the man gives a fuck about; he had his own demons to deal with but it was good to know that his Alpha woman understood how sometimes, blood must be spilled for the safety of the pack.

Sitting on his haunches, with the tongue out of his mouth and panting like a dog in heat, Takashi wagged his tail, enraptured by the sight of her Alpha woman battle lust.

" _Wait a bloody second….what?"_ thought Takashi, when he repaired that he was now, a seven feet tall wolf of black fur, sitting on the stone of the open yard, with his fluffy tail waggling in content.

" _Oh, well, this is unexpected..."_ thought the boy in his mind.


	7. Furry respite

There are moments in life, that leaves a mark, so deep, that they become impossible to forget.

Traumas or intense, emotional, moments; that had such an impact in the lives or perceptions of the world of the ones that lived them, that they could; even years later; revive them with unusual clarity, perhaps giving them a layer or two of whatever they need to make it more believable or endurable, but anyhow, those moments will endure in the memory, marking stones that they could use to establish a before and after in their lives.

For the dozen or so guards that were watching over the fence of the Takagi manor, the incoming arrival of Takashi Komuro and Saeko Busujima was one of those moments that would let them with mouths agape and eyes menacing to get out of their sockets. Not every day did you see a beautiful Japanese school girl; with black stockings, short leather skirt and combat boots, wielding a katana; riding a seven feet tall black wolf the size of a car. They jumped over the fences and the defenses that the Takagi Manor had like they were not even there. Easily passing over the concrete blockade and the metallic fence that separated the Manor from the main road. The patrols had already seen them, but alas, they were still trying to made heads or tails, hoping it was nothing but a temporal delusion from the stress they have been suffering in the past two days.

Saeko was greatly enjoying herself, riding Takashi; although a bit awkwardly, as she had no experience in any kind of riding; was a wonderful experience, the fur, warm and strong, yet soft to the touch, the muscles that moved under her, the wind on the face, the sensation of movement, unimpeded by any obstacle or any of Them. Yep, the woman was greatly enjoying herself. And the fact that Takashi has not only accepted but encouraged her darkest and the most violent side has only made it great. Frankly, it has been quite the shock to see the wolf form of Takashi, sitting on his haunches, looking at her with the most adorable puppy expression that she has ever seen. She would never admit that she squeal little a little girl and hugged the massive wolf, enjoying the fur like he was a gigantic plushy.

After a bit of time for the boy to accustom to his new body; walking on fours and the sensations and perceptions of his new form were a bit confusing and overwhelming; they prepared to join the rest of their pack in the Takagi manor. If Takagi was right, the manor is going to be something akin to a bloody fortress. Souichiro is not a man to trifle with, even after the incident with the attempt of kidnapping Saya, Takashi knew that Souichiro had too many contacts and weight in the government to do not have his own, private force to keep the grounds of his manor, relatively safe. Don Takagi, as the man was called, was a mountain of a man, with a right-wing ideology that sometimes made Takashi cringe. It was not a secret that Saya and her father has been at each other throats a couple of times, their shouting contests were a well know fact around the manor, and Takashi soon learned to get the heck out of there before he got involved.

However, this time Takashi suspected that is going to be a bit more difficult than he expected, Saya was pack, that means that he is not going to left her in the Takagi Manor unless the manor becomes a home for the pack. Unfortunately, there can not be two alphas in the same den, otherwise, they will, inevitable fight. There can be two packs, however, Magnus and Shizuka-sensei were a pack of their own, but the blonde nurse was very attached to Takashi´s pack, and surely, she would convince Magnus to help them. More than once has Takashi wondered if the real alpha of Magnus´ pack was Marikawa-sensei, from how he talked about how Rika consented the woman like she was a child and how protective the older Therianthrope was of Shizuka; even if she had no idea of what going around her, she had them both wrapped around her little bubbly personality.

Truth to be told, as much as an airhead as she appeared to be, Takashi owned a lot to the nurse bombshell; she was one of the few that partially understood how shitty his everyday life was, and helped him, as much as she could. Prescribing soft sedatives and other not entirely appropriate medicines for a school, the nurse had helped him to endure the worst seizures he had from time to time. Moments on where his cranium was trying his best to rip out of his flesh.

The temple was not far from the manor, with a bit of hurry, Takashi was sure that they would reach it in a couple of hours, but just to be on the safe side of things, Takashi kept his enthusiasm to the minimum. He was carrying Saeko on his back, and even if he loved to have the samurai-woman so close to him, he knew that none of them were precisely expert riders, and Takashi was not accustomed to run in all fours. It was a novel experience for both of them, but Takashi was sure that they were going to repeat it a lot in the future. It was exhilarating for both of them, and they did not want to make it a one-time thing.

The streets were filled with stumbling groups of _Them;_ they really should start giving them a name, just to prevent confusions between Them and them; all of those putrid things were moaning and shuffling around looking for something to bite. However, Takashi realized that they were leaving animals alone, they did not seem to care about the cats that hissed at them from balconies, unless the animals attacked them. They reacted with violence, chewing at the animal like a swarm of piranhas, but the animals did not raise after. In the back of his mind, Takashi was relieved, that means that he was not going to face zombie cows or any other bad joke like that. The Zoo was seven blocks to the west, and a zombie elephant would be a complete nightmare.

Speaking of a nightmare, he really should speak with Magnus about the thing that has attacked them in the river. As much as he liked to be wrong, that thing was a Therianthrope, and it has been infected. However, why did the thing hunted him? could it be like it happened in the past? the thing recognized him as a source of power and wanted a piece of the pie for itself. If that´s the case, Takashi really should be extra careful, his pack was surprisingly high competent, but they are humans, enough hard it was to deal with Them, to add a Therianthrope to the mix. Takashi can soak a lot of damage, he demonstrated it, but if he was one of Them, then only a massive bullet to the head would have any chance to put an end to the living nightmare that he can become.

Taking a more scenic route, to prevent any useless confrontation; and Takashi would not lie and openly admit that he enjoyed walking Saeko like that, the woman over him, was really enjoying the ride and smiling like the angel she was; they reached a high ground over a broken building and saw the horror that was Tokonusu during the third day of the outbreak. The fires were already quelled, mostly in thanks to the automatic water systems of most buildings, but they did not delude themselves, at some point, the automatic systems will fail. A city is a very delicate thing, broke a pipe or a cable and you could let hundreds of persons out of water and electricity. As the time passed, the automatic systems of the factories and other necessary facilities for the everyday operations of the city would collapse, cutting down the supply of clean water, electricity, and heat. For the incoming winter, that could be dangerous, very dangerous, even a simple walk to the nearest, non-raided already, a supermarket could be a dangerous thing, and Takashi was not arrogant enough to believe that he was always being there.

As powerful as he was, Takashi knew that at some point, there will be too many things to do, too many chores and labors to do, to keep his pack safe and healthy, as he could not do all of them. It was a good thing that he trusted his pack completely, okay, not all the pack, but the majority of them. Rei and Igou are a sensitive topic right now; they are part of the pack, and they are not. Takashi wanted to punch both of them, but at the same time, he has been friends with them for a long time, and first loves are not that easily forgotten. In resume, as any other teenager, he was still trying to made heads or tails about what he did feel about Rei and if he should rip Igou a new one or just kick them out of the pack and continue with their lives.

The Takagi manor can be seen in the distance, and Takashi could see some of the defenses that the surrounding streets have. Saeko commented on the blockades that she could see on the roads and main streets to the manor. It was useless against a walking horde of them, but to prevent out of control vehicles was a very good safety measure, not to mention that a competent squad with guns or even swords could keep a lot of them out of the place, as Them would not be able to use, their overwhelming numbers against the defenders. She was not military, but Saeko knew enough about fighting to realize that fight Them one on one was way better than face Them in open space and be completely surrounded from all sides. With a grim visage, they saw bit and pieces of other survivors, all of them doing their best, and of course, they saw crazy wackos like the ones that attacked Takashi the first day. Humanity was slowly sinking to their primitive state, not really a surprise, this was the survival of the fittest; as much as other wanted to discuss and protest, this apocalypse zombie crap is going to bring out the worst and the best of humanity.

Teenager angst apart, everyone and their mothers had demons inside; once the survival instincts and the social rules were out of the window, demons are going to get out and made survival even more uphill. Takashi has already seen that kind of demons; not only the cult-like bullshit that Shido tried to pull on the bus but the crazy assholes that shot at him and Rei two days ago when they were separated from the rest of the pack. Takashi was not eager to test his luck against anything, as powerful as he was, he was not invulnerable and an unlucky shot would put him down as fast as anything else. Speaking of weapons, even at that distance, Takashi could perceive the smell of gunpowder from all kind of weapons. The people of the Takagi manor was armed, and for his surprise, there was a lot more people than he expected would be.

With quickness, and always carefully keeping Saeko on his back, they run over any obstacle, dodging concentrations of Them and always with an eye of their surroundings, just in case, a cretin with a gun was playing the shooter on the surrounding roofs and windows. Not the first time Takashi has seen something like that when he was recovering things for Saya and Shizuka-sensei, he saw several of those, camping in a little fortress made of whatever they had at hand. It was yesterday and it still looks like it has been a lifetime. Time was starting to get little sense to Takashi now, in barely three days he has been experimented more things than in his entire life. Getting laid included, that drug-filled night does not exist.

Both; Takeshi and Saeko; loved the flabbergasted expressions of the guards and people around the blockades that they cross over, leaving a trail of people that swore to abandon alcohol that same day or wondered about they mental health, with a final, mighty, jump over the wall of the manor, Takashi landed in the yard of the manor, quickly crossing the distance that separated him and Saeko for the little reunion that the rest of his pack was having in a corner of the yard; near the garage of the manor. Of course, the rest of the pack was as freaked out as the rest of the people, only the visage of Saeko over the back of the massive black wolf keep them from raising their weapons and shoot.

"What the fuck?!". Screamed Morita with a can of beer in his hand and his jaw, meeting his new best friend, the floor.

It was possibly the best resume of the emotions that all the pack was showing, but the one that broke all expectations was; as usual, Shizuka-sensei, who just jumped at the side of Takashi and buried her head into the soft, black fur of Takashi, hugging all of what her arms could cover.

"Takashi is a big plushy now!". She shouted with childish joy, much to the amazement and amusement of Takashi and Saeko.

"Damn girl, I did advise you to make his not-so-little wolf howl your name, but this is a bit too much, don't you think?". Blinked Yuuki, as she was sewing a jacket; Takashi noticed it, and took mental note of thanking the girl later for the stitches in his own jacket two night before; and observing the seven feet wolf that was being petted like it was a puppy, by Shizuka-sensei.

Saeko spluttered and blushed, trying to make an argument as she got down the back of Takashi, although she would have loved to prolong the ride a bit more, she was happy to see the rest of the pack, safe and sound. They soon get together, happy to be together again, and sharing with the other what has been going on, during the day that they have been out. Saya, Rei, and Igou were still inside the mansion. Rei had a nasty fall during the desperate battle over the blockade where they separated and can move around too much, Igou was keeping her company and Saya was trying to put some sense into the heads of all the people that have taken refuge in the manor grounds.

They have seen the tents and the people moving around, all civilians like them, with the occasional man of the Takagi group, patrolling the gates and walls. The men of the Takagi group were the only ones that had weapons on them, apart from Kohta and Morita, who somehow, has earned the right to carry them around when they dispatched a little bunch of stray Them, that had slipped under one of the vigilance spots during the evening. Takashi was proud of his two friends, they have been keeping the pack safe, protecting them with all they had. It was a very good thing to have a marksman like Kohta in the pack. However, he was sure that Don Takagi is going to throw a fit at the image of the ordinance that the two teenagers; Kohta and Morita; had on themselves.

Kohta still had his rifle, a Knight´s SR-25 sniper rifle Takashi believed it was; Takashi didn't remember that well, the name of the gun but he had the utmost respect for the skills that Kohta had with the gun; along the six-shooter pistol of the dead policeman of two nights ago and a long knife in the belt. Morita had a nailed baseball bat; that was a nasty and cruel weapon, perfect to crush the heads of Them; and the shotgun, an Ithaca M37, that they found at Rika´s house. Morita has little accuracy, but the shotgun was just a "point to the enemy, pull the trigger" kind of weapon that would be perfect for him until the lessons that he has been taking from Kohta in shooting started to get results.

Yuuki and Shizuka have been taking care of Alice, who has adopted Zeke as a mascot and usually was running errands with the pup all around the mansion, helping with all she could. Yuuki´s talent as seamstress has been useful to the manor, as she has been sewing back a lot of ragged jackets and pants, from the skirmishes with groups of Them; the orange-haired teenager was not happy, but she didn't want to give any reasons to the Takagi to kick her sweet ass out of the manor. And she had a pack to belong now, the last thing she need was to upset the; recently discovered; seven feet tall wolf that was Takashi. Shizuka, on the other hand, has been helping around with any medical needs that the people around the manor could have, she was a certified nurse after all, even if she did not appear like it.

In general, the pack has been keeping themselves busy. The appearance of Takashi, however, has set waves all over the manor, especially in the guards, who were still shocked for the appearance of the Amazon like Saeko, riding a big ass wolf, over their fences and walls. Honestly, no one could have seen that one coming, so they quickly called back to the manor, but Lady Yuriko soon quelled their fears, the wolf and the girl were allies, good friends of her daughter, and there was no reason to worry. She soon managed to appease the guards, although the civilians in the yard, who were seeing the big wolf laying in the corner of the garage were a bit harder to convince.

Saya appeared from one of those tents with a scowl on her face, but when she saw Takashi on the floor, she ran directly at him and tackled his side with a jump and a cry of being a bloody idiot. Takashi was more than accustomed to the Tsundereness of Saya at this point and moved his body to surround the worried girl as much as he could, using his tail and head to hug back the mumbling girl, who has been worried all this time for their lives. Now that he was back, she suddenly realized that she was hugging; much like Shizuka, who was still scratching the sides of Takashi and cooing all the fur she could; a massive seven feel tall wolf. It was different, even for all the weirdness that surrounded Takashi on a daily basis.

Unfortunately, Takashi had no answers, even if he could talk, the best he could do was to yap and bark, speaking practically by body language more than anything else. Curiously, the pack seem to understand, not what he was saying, but yes what he means. It was a bit confusing, but as everything of late, they just shrugged it and go with the flow, it was less maddening that way and they are too young to become alcoholic for the stress.

The pack, however, was happy to be back together; they missed each other, their presence was comforting, in a world that has gone shit in less than a couple of days.

On a not that positive note, the people of the manor did not take Takashi´s presence all that well; the big wolf scared most of them shitless; in fact, a lot of the guards were reaching for their weapons. The only thing that kept them from shooting, was the absurdity of the situation and the orders of the Lady of the manor.

Not every day you see a seven feet tall werewolf being completely dominated by a blonde bombshell that has claimed the back of the wolf for herself; using the entire, furry surface, as it was a big plushy, hugging, cooing and scratching all the black and silky fur that she could put her hands on. Takashi just endured it with all the dignity he could muster, giving the circumstances, and the addition of the distressed Saya, that was crying her relief under the fur of his left side; only kept the guard less inclined to anything rash or stupid.

Saya Takagi was the daughter of the owners of the place, and even if the ones that have taken residence in the yard of the house; in an impromptu camp; did not always see eye to eye with them, no one was stupid enough to cross neither of them. The Takagi are not people do you want to tangle with; rumors of their Yakuza like activities non-withstanding. Money and power was something that always has been used to describe the Takagi; a powerful, Right-winged family with a lot of influence in the politics and the army.

"Well, I will be damned, you found your wolf, about bloody time". Laughed the voice of Magnus from one of the doors of the basement of the manor. The massive man was dressed in a t-shirt and a pair of jeans that could barely hold his mass, hanging from his belt, there was a fireman ax.

Takashi would have raised his eyebrow at the picture of the man like he was some kind of modern Viking. However, right now, Takashi was more worried about the safety of the giggling nurse over his back; Shizuka was not the agilest of the persons. She was a klutz her best days. Anyhow, Takashi turned his head to the man and deadpanned as much as his lupine features allowed him to do. It was a notable effort and as always, the blood bastard of Magnus seems to know Takashi better than himself.

"You are decades younger to pull a deadpan", laughed Magnus moving near the pack. "It is a nice transformation, do not get me wrong, my first time I forgot about the tail; now, that was embarrassing". The rest of the pack of Takashi seems to have accepted the man as it was one of them; something that surprised Takashi a little. For what Takashi knew, Magnus has only revealed to Kohta and Morita, the rest of the pack did not know of the real identity of Plushy, the massive dog of Marikawa Sensei; but something must have happened for them to be so accepting of the man.

"Let me guess", spoke Magnus to Takashi. "One second you are human, the next you are on your haunches, asking yourself what the fuck was going on". Takashi has to admit that Magnus has nailed it, it happened as Magnus said, Takashi was staring at the goddess made flesh that was Saeko and the next, he was waggling his tail on the floor. It was an odd sensation having a tail, his Beast, pretty much deals with it, but his upper conscious was still baffled about the extra appendage.

"Do not fret, lad, it had to happen at some point", shrugged Magnus. "Still, I will admit that yours is one of the oddest transitions that I have ever seen", chuckled Magnus."The wound of your back has been screwing with you for years, but you are recovering the time lost in leaps and bounds; in no time you will achieve balance and then the real fun will begin".

Now that made the entire pack raise a collective brow; well, except Shizuka who was still playing with her new toy and giggling to herself; what does Magnus mean with fun?. Takashi was already hell on earth, strong and durable enough, but Magnus has already suggested that Takashi was still scratching the surface of the hell that a powerful Therianthrope as him could unleash. As always, Takashi was a bit taken aback with that and excited at the idea, at the same time; the Beast was eager to see what they could do and Takashi was scared shitless of turning into the thing that almost killed him and Saeko in the riverbank.

"My apologies, but are you a friend of Takashi", said Saeko still confused by the appearance of the man that now so much about her beloved.

"Something of the sort", smiled Magnus ruffling the air of the head of Takashi and he tried to nip the hand of the man in response, lacking any ill intention. "I have been looking out for the champ for some time now; helping him to get back into the path of the Therianthrope".

"But we have never seen you before". Protested Saeko, who has never seen Magnus before; she did not know that Magnus and Plushy were pretty much the one and the same.

"Aye, you have", smiled Magnus, showing a lupine smile, "only not in person by in fur". Hinted Magnus and Miku got close to Saeko, whispering in her ear. Saeko widened her eyes and observed at Magnus, who kept smiling like the cat that ate the canary.

"Now, lets get into serious business". Said Magnus, losing a bit of his smile. "Your appearance is going to send some ripples here lad", turn his head to Takashi, who even sat, to help Shizuka and Saya to be more comfortable over his body, Takashi was a tall beast after all.

"Magnus is right Takashi", said Saya from her comfortable spot; trying by all means of ignoring the smug expression of Miku and the frown of Saeko; she was recovering from the sight of his friends alive and well, and turned into a massive beast. "Don't get me wrong, I am fucking happy with seeing you alive and well, but them?", pointed her thumb to the tents, "they are already nursing rioting thoughts, and my parent's people are already stretched thin as now".

"But we mean no harm", protested Saeko, leaning on Takashi's side as it was the most natural thing in the world, and for the two lovers, it was. Not that the rest of the pack did not repay of the closeness, protectiveness, and possessiveness of Saeko in that gesture. "Point is, that we have even helped by cleaning out groups of Them on our way here".

The little tidbit of the little harem of Takashi must be resolved fast before the women after the bones of the Therianthrope and the boy itself did something stupid. However, the pack knew that that was an internal affair and something that the pack must solve on its own. Magnus was laughing his ass; mentally; all the time, as much as he liked this pack, they are mostly, bloody teenagers and that means that they hormones thought for them most of the time.

"That´s irrelevant to them", said Morita. "They are scared shitless of Them and; do not chew my ass for this Saya-san; the people of the Takagi, in their eyes they are little more than Yakuzas playing heroes. The infamy of the Takagi group and how the things have been going on here, since the first day of this bloody nightmare have them terrified of whats going to happen with their sorry asses".

Morita, who kept his shotgun hanging from his shoulders and his bat as it was an ax on his belt, turn his eyes to the tents.

"Fuck, I could understand them, If it wasn't for the pack thing that we have going on; I would have been as terrified as them or worse, tumbling around and moaning about juicy brains for supper". Shrugged Morita, who had the wisdom of the poor, people that had to fight every day for putting some warm food on the table.

Saya would have loved to snarl at the Mohawk boy, but she was clever enough to see that Morita has nailed it. Her family was far from being a loving pillar of the community; or at least, not behind closed doors, where everybody and their grandmothers could insult them and call them Yakuza or something worse. It was not a novel experience, and one of the reasons why she never had a lot of friends. Morita was right, people were scared, and the big, bad wolf, was hardly helping unless Them appeared in mass and Takashi could slice through them like he has been doing all this time.

"What options do we have them?", Saeko put her hand over the head of Takashi; scratching near his ear, taking strength from each other. "Should we abandon the manor, so the people did not collect pitch and forks?". The venom was almost tangible in her voice.

"Fuck no, not even in a joke, no way, nay", was the different yet identical responses of the pack. That surprised Takashi and Saeko a little, but let them known that the pack had their backs. It was a very comforting feeling, in a situation like this Zombie-apocalyptic kind of scenario.

"First of all, any pack that separates is doomed to die", pointed out Magnus with the certainty of a someone that has seen it before. "Second, the only problem here is this big doggy", signaled with his finger to Takashi who snorted; look who is talking, was almost hidden in the snort. "So, he only have to learn to change back, is not that hard but it will take a bit of time, so in the meanwhile, I will suggest moving his furry ass to the private gardens".

It has sense, the gardens were one of the few places that only the Takagi's had access; meaning Takashi will be left alone and only Saya, the pack or the Takagis will interact with him. At the same time, it was akin to a cage to Takashi, but the boy could understand the precautions that they are taking. The situation was shitty enough to deal with a bunch of cretins that could put the entire manor at risk of being overwhelmed by a horde of Them. As much as the Takagi´s personnel had everything more or less under control, a bunch of idiots with an idea could turn the tables in a second. Especially now, that Takagi senior was out with a lot of the best that the manor had, searching for supplies and other necessities that the people need.

Led by Magnus, it was an easy stroll to get the big wolf out of the eyes of the civilians camped in the yard. Shizuka loved the ride, and as soon as Alice and Zeke appeared in the corner of the building; even after a bit of the scare from the little girl; she was on the back of Takashi, riding along the nurse as if Takashi was the best steed ever. In a sense it was, but the pack was enjoying a bit too much, how the massive wolf was totally being dragged around by the blonde bombshell and a little girl.

The private gardens of the Takagi were actually quite the sight. A classic zen garden with a Koi pond and everything. Takashi almost felt like he shouldn't be there, just an accidental waggle of his tail and all the very expensive looking ceramic and furniture around would be shattered; not to mention that his pawn was bigger than the bridge that connected both sides of the garden. All in all, Takashi has to admit that it did look like a very nice place, one that had that sensation of peace and tranquility that he has only experimented when he was with Saeko. When they bare their souls; and bodies; to each other in the shrine where they passed the last night.

On a side note, Takashi noted that his senses as wolf were different than as a human, not that he was not able to move and pretty much still be lethal as hell, but it was an odd sensation. Being a wolf was something that should freak him out, but the Beast seemed to be curiously pleased as if they have reached some kind of mutual accord and were in harmony. Heck, he could get behind that, the Beast and him have not ever been accord; they did not fight each other, that much was certain, but neither entirely cooperate with other.

Except when somebody kidnapped Saya; that day the shit really hit the fan. The Beast took the driver seat and put the pedal to the metal, turning him into the most vicious and ruthless predator that dispatched the mercs as they were cattle in the slaughterhouse. Even today, Takashi has to admit that, that was not one of his brightest moments. Sure, he had little qualms in ripping them to shreds, especially when that bitch with the big knife, threatened Saya with cutting one of her luscious breasts and sent it to her mother as Christmas gift.

And the Beast demonstrated once more that he was there, luscious breasts, that was something that Takashi would have never thought about Saya. Saya was pack, and Takashi knew that Kohta had this kind of crush on the pinkette, however, Takashi could not fool the Beast, and the Beast would have little problem in shag Saya, and Saeko, and Hayashi-sensei and...well, it was easy to get the point. The Beast care little about nothing that was not the survival of the pack and its own needs and desires. It was a constant, not exactly battle, as the Beast never did anything that harms Takashi or the pack, but a struggle, between Takashi´s conscious and morals, and the simple but elegant, almost Darwinian ideas, namely eat, get lay, rest, kill anything dangerous, rinse and repeat.

Now that he thought about it, Hayashi-sensei was not there, and his senses soon picked up her nice smell and voice somewhere in the second level of the building. There was another voice there, one that Takashi has not eared in a while; Lady Yuriko Takagi has been one of the few that kind of understand what kind of bullshit Takashi has to endure daily and never did anything to separate Saya from him or made him awkward; as opposite of Soichiro Takagi, Saya´s father and a man that Takashi was not entirely sure what to think about.

The man was not an enemy, if he was, he would have demonstrated it crystal clear to Takashi as soon as Soichiro learned about his unique condition, on the other hand, Soichiro never really liked Takashi. Or at least, he did little to ease the almost permanent alertness that Takashi had around the man. Soichiro was a stone wall of a man; not as tall or broad as Magnus, but the latter was like a tank on steroids and had that permanent aura of controlled rage that sent all kind of alarms into Takashi´s brain. The Beast was wary of the man, it was human, so much was absolutely true, but he was a hunter too; a different kind of predator, but a predator as well.

There was a respect between predators unless there is blood on the table. So far, nor Takashi, nor the Beast had any reasons to start a feud with Takagi father. Not to mention that having Saya in the pack and starting something with her father would be a very stupid idea. Packs that started that kind of bullshit did not last long, but alas, their human natures sometimes get in the middle of all of it. The Beast always snorted at the thought, the human nature was not a positive one precisely. Humans are the most dangerous, egotistical, greedy and vicious of the creatures, they had little problem in hurt anything on their path, just to satisfy their egos or desires, with little to none consideration about anything that it was not themselves.

Anyhow, Takashi found himself a space big enough for his mass and took a place in the garden; the rest of the pack and Magnus took seats around and started to plan their next move. Now that the pack was mostly complete; only Igou, Rei, and Hayashi-sensei were not present and the first two were still an item of debate among the pack; they could start pondering what the fuck are they going to do next.

So far the pack has managed to survive quite well, but it has been three days since the start of this nightmare and supplies were relatively easy to find. In a month, millions of products will reach their expiration date and without anyone working on farms, food is going to be a problem. Apply the same calculation for things that people took for granted, like toilet paper, running water and electricity, but way sooner than a month and you had the perfect recipe for a bloody nightmare; more that they were living right now.

"So, any idea of what to do from now on?", it was Miku the one that spoke first, she always was an extroverted person, and within her pack, those traits come out more often. "Don't get me wrong, I love the place, I have never been in nothing half luxurious as this, but this is not going to last long".

Saya glared the girl, it was her parents home after all. Even if she has had more than one argument with her parents about it, she loved them, and will never allow anyone to talk badly about them. Even if she herself, has been one of the more vocal of the criticizers of her parents.

"Love, admit it, this is a bloody powder keg and those assholes of the yard are the biggest box of matches that I have ever seen". Miku answer the glare of Saya with brutal honesty and facts; the only thing that Saya could not argue. "Mohawk boy was right, they are scared, heck, I had my own guardian wolf", she winked an eye to Takashi and he felt relief that wolves did not blush, "and I am scared as hell".

"Not to mention the weapons". Said Kohta taking a seat on a bench of the garden, as uncomfortable as Takashi or Morita about accidentally breaking something expensive as shit.

"Ah, shit, that". Snorted Morita, with the unloaded shotgun over his shoulders. "That could have gone ugly and fast".

Takashi shared a glance with Saeko and she was the one that spoke for the two, although the curiosity in Takashi language has been enough for the pack to understand what he wanted.

"Weapons?, Kohta, Morita, what are you talking about?". Asked Saeko, between the pack, and almost in an organic manner, they lost any formalities and suffixes. They are pack, and that was enough.

"Only Takagi´s people have weapons around", said Kohta. "Practically at the second of our arrival, the people of Takagi tried to take our guns from us".

"We try to resist", keep the tale Morita, wishing for a beer right now, "but we were two against five and it was not as if we could flip the bird at them and splatter their brains against the wall as if they were part of Them".

"Fortunately, Magnus and Lady Yuriko appeared and set things straight", sighed Kohta in relief. "Otherwise, it could have ended on a very sour note".

"Euphemism for a colossal fuck up", laughed Morita.

"They saw us as children", sighed Saya, who pretty much feel the same way, especially after talking with the civilians in the camp that has been set up in the yard. "We are children that had little idea of how things work and whose opinion is little more than background noise".

"Not to be the Debby Downer here, lass, but they had a point", chuckled Magnus. "Three days ago, your worst nightmare was exams, acne, and puberty. They are just unable to cope up with the world going on flames around them and grab whatever piece of normalcy they can find".

"They are idiots". Saya huffed.

"Aye, they are; they are humans", shrugged Magnus. "I have seen humanity do a lot of amazing things, unfortunately, there is nothing of that greatness, there"; pointed Magnus with his thumb in the general direction of the camp; "and instead there is a lot of desperate people".

"Nor that we can abandon them", said Shizuka over Takashi. She was playing and keeping an eye on Alice, who was using Takashi´s tail as a slide. Zeke by his part has found a comfortable spot in the legs of Takashi and was napping without a care in the world.

"They are people like us, no?", she blinked with her usual optimistic nature. "Well, I know that you are an amazing bunch of children, but these people are not that amazing and they have seen hell to get here; that is still weighing heavy on their minds. That's why they are a bunch of grumpy meanies".

Magnus smiled brightly at the comments of the nurse, sharing a glance with Takashi. They did not exchange words itself, but they shared a short mental conversation of some kind, more akin to body language and expressions that spoke louder than words.

" _See?, that is the person that Rika and I fell in love with, isn't she the sweetest thing ever?"._

" _Aye, that´s why the pack would die for protecting her, you smug bastard"._

"You know, sometimes I forgot that she is a total klutz", smiled Miku with a raised eyebrow. "From time to time she says amazing things".

"Yuuki-san, that´s rude you know?", pouted adorably Shizuka, making the pack laugh.

"Anyhow, the question remains", set the conversation back to course Saya. "What do we do now?".

"Magnus-san..:", started Saeko and Magnus raised a hand stopping her.

"Nothing of that -san, thing", smiled Magnus. "I am an old Norwegian, all that -san, -chan, -kun, etc goes right over my head, Magnus will do".

"Magnus then", smiled Saeko. As Alpha-female of the pack, Saeko shared the same sensations as Takashi about Magnus. The man was not part of the pack per se, but it was a welcome friend, a valuable ally and a mischievous bastard. "We would like to hear any suggestion that you may have for us; like it or not, we are still young and lacked experience, so any advice would be more than welcome".

"There, you see?, you see now why being with your soul-mate is the best thing ever", laughed Magnus at Takashi. "She is quite a woman, lad, well done". Congratulated Magnus to Takashi, making Saeko blush slightly.

"Now, answering your question", turned Magnus to Saeko. "If it was me, I would have made a run for the mountains ASAP".

"Why?", asked Morita, an urban boy through and through.

"The mountains are perfect for Therianthropes", explained Magnus."The smells of nature are, as a lack of a better word, natural for the Therianthropes, opposite to the cloud of smog that covers any big city like Tokunusu. A lot less of Them in rural areas, you can see them coming from miles and in the forest is way easier to fight Them than in streets or inside of buildings".

"Ah, I see, sorry man, I am a city-boy", chuckled Morita.

"Not the only one, any of us lacks any survival training", sighed Saya.

"I had some basic notions", confessed Kohta. "The Black Water trainer that taught how to shot, taught me a lot of tricks for survival in the wilderness".

"My father and I used to go on training trips to the mountains", smiled Saeko with nostalgia. "I know some basic things about survival too".

"Its a start", nodded Magnus. "The Mountain is a natural stronghold, not to mention how the forest has its own sounds, depending on the number of Them in the area, you can have them running around hunting ghost sounds or directly to a trap, however, living in the forest and the mountains is a harsh and crude way of living. People of this age and era are hardly prepared for that, maybe as a pack, you will have a better chance, alas it is a personal opinion, perhaps you should try something different, after all, it is your pack, not mine".

"Any suggestions?". Asked Saeko to the pack around her.

"Personally, I am a bit afraid of leaving the city", admitted Morita. "Concrete jungle or not, this is our home turf, if we manage to make ourselves strong in zones that we knew, we will play at home".

"Bob Marley reference", giggled Shizuka from the back of Takashi at the words of Morita, earning a surprised glare of the boy and another round of laughs from the pack.

"Perhaps a mix of both?", the voice of Hayashi-sensei came from the other end of the garden. The Redhead woman has finished her business with Lady Yuriko and has joined the rest of the pack.

To be honest, when she saw the monster wolf from one of the windows, she almost had a heart attack, but before Magnus joined the rest on the yard, the tall man eased her worry, by informing that the wolf was Takashi. It has taken a while for her to digest that, but at the end, Takashi has earned her faith a hundred times over, during the two days on where they have been running from Them. The young Therianthrope has given his all to protect them, and it was only adequate to answer him in equal measure.

"Any ideas, sensei?", raised an eyebrow Miku. The pack may be informal with one another, but the oldest among them; namely Shizuka and Hayashi, were their teachers and the adults around, so the sensei term was deeply ingrained in the teenagers. "We are starting to debate, so you have come at the right moment, and even picked up some strays on the way". Miku eyed the other two people behind Hayashi-sensei.

For what Takashi and Saeko could pick of the body language of their pack; Igou and Rei were not precisely welcome among the pack. Miku has openly snarled at them, Morita was frowning, Saya had another frown of her own brand and Kohta had a very, very neutral expression, but the colder eyes Takashi has never seen on him. Shizuka, Magnus, and Alice didn't seem to care one way or the other and Zeke open his little, round eyes, saw them and huff once before snuggling back into Takashi´s fur to continue napping. The black and white dog seems to have the priorities of life, really clear and straight.

Even so, even from the other side of the garden, Takashi could pick up with very easily, how Igou and Rei were scared. The musky sensation of fear was like a needle for his enhanced senses. Along with the sweat and the echoes of their body language. It was a curious thing, how Takashi depended way more on body language than words to express what he means. Somehow the pack seems to understand more or less what he wanted, but that works both ways and Takashi could read them, equally well.

They may not be pack; well, not entirely sure if they are part of the pack or not, it was still up to debate; but for Takashi, Iguo and Rei could be carrying a neon cartel with their emotions, perfectly visible to all of them. As it was now, fear was chief among the emotions that the pair was feeling. Not really a surprise. The Takashi that they believed they know; in truth, a monster of the myths of mankind; has transformed into a seven feet tall black wolf. Takashi would admit that that piece of info could unbalance anyone; especially if they are teenagers with a serious emotional baggage after them and with puberty playing whack-a-mole with their hormones and feelings.

For the moment, they are tolerated, and Takashi did not say anything about them. Takashi could see as bright as day that the pair was dying to ask what the fuck was going on, but to be honest, Takashi did give a fuck about what they wanted and just enjoy the presence of his pack for whats worth. In two days, Takashi has received a very harsh lesson about giving things for granted, and right now, just with his pack safe and healthy around him, it was more than enough.

In a display of common sense, neither Igou of Rei made a comeback to the not so veiled insult of Miku; taking a seat in the edge of the circle of the pack and just stand there. Hiyashi-sensei, on the other hand, was more than welcome and the redhead woman walked to Takashi and just pick up his fur with fascination, still having difficulties to believe it, even with solid proof in her hands.

"Sensei", giggled Miku, "focus, sure Takashi´s fur is awesome, but you were saying...".

"Ah, sorry, yes", a bit of blush emerged to the cheeks of Hayashi-sensei. "As I was saying, why not a bit of both, Tokunusu is a coastal city; perhaps we can take a boat and made a run for a nearby island".

"There are dozens of little islands on the coast". Murmured Kohta. "But because of the noise of the floating airport, lots of them are little more than ghost towns, I believe, something about that appeared on the news about a couple years back".

"Good memory, Kohta", smiled Hayashi. "Indeed, when the floating airport construction ended, a lot of little fishing towns of the nearby islands moved out; the airport presence disrupted their business and living with constant air traffic. One of those islands could be perfect, as it already has some structure and natural resources to make a living, not precisely the most luxurious of the lifestyles".

"Hot water is going to be a luxury in no time", sighed Saya. "With Them roaming around, soon, the infrastructure of the city will collapse, we will lose electricity, water, heat, etc. The manor had its own generators but those are for emergencies, not for 24/7 service".

"In resume, we are pretty much screwed, unless we build ourselves our own little wolves den". Resumed Morita with a smile. "More or less, what everyone was thinking, although I will confess that I am going to miss this place".

"Oh, how so?", raised an eyebrow Saya, who has never pegged Morita as one that dwells in luxuries.

"Kobe beef steaks and European cold beers". Answered Morita. "From my perspective, that is the food of the gods".

The pack chuckled at the honest simplicity of the teenager. Only recently have they learned that he was a ward of the state. The majority of his money went into Fujimi Academy, and more often than not, Morita has to pick up part-time jobs; very discretely; in order to pay the rent and food of his little apartment. From the perspective of Morita, this place was something akin to a bloody paradise.

"Good taste, lad", laughed Magnus, slapping the back of the boy. Morita winced a little, Magnus was like a walking, speaking heavy tank, and even if he lacked any ill intention, his had was like a paddle and hit like a truck. "But before all of you start to plan things, allow me to point out the elephant in the room".

"Oh?", said Saeko, not really seeing the problem.

"Saya´s parents". Answered Magnus. "Yuriko is a very intelligent woman and I do respect Soichiro, but the man is stiff as an iron bar; he would never let Saya go unless he is completely sure that it is in good hands. Takashi; from Soichiro´s perspective; yours are the last hands he will trust".

That raised some eyebrows and made Takashi body language irradiate confusion. What has he ever done that could have put him in such a bad light with Saya´s father?. The kidnapping thing should be a plus, Takashi did save Saya from that mercs before she was crippled. Takashi always has maintained a polite and respectful stance with the Takagi, so he could not see what the problem was.

"Not your fault, lad", sighed Magnus. "It is a long tale, but let's just say that Soichiro´s experience with Therianthropes, has been violent and bloody, to put it mildly. The idea of his only daughter running around with one is not a pleasant thought for the lad; on the other hand, Yuriko; who has always been the brain of the two, to be honest; is delighted to know that her little girl is protected by a powerful Therianthrope".

"I see", sighed Saeko at the news, and Saya was practically in the verge of one of her explosive temper tantrums, as soon as he could put her hands on her father; that arrogant bastard. "That´s a very delicate situation indeed".

"A piece of advice", said Magnus, crackling his neck before starting to walk out of the garden. "Now that the pack is together, take five and prepare yourselves. Eat, rest, resupply, etc. Plan your next move and be sure that all the pack is one hundred percent behind it". Magnus raised from his position and looked at the sun. "Now, if you excuse me, I had patrol duty at the roadblock".

With the absence of Magnus, the pack stop the planning and just, enjoyed the others company. The star of the show was Takashi, of course, everyone wanted to know what the heck has happened and how on earth has he turned into a bloody wolf. Unfortunately, Takashi has even less idea than them about how it has happened; a second he was observing his personal goddess of war butcher Them and the next, he was a wolf. It was a bit confusing, but at the same time, his massive form felt perfectly natural.

Takashi wanted to transform back into a human, but he did not know how and that was a bit annoying. He wanted to speak again, but the pack seems to be able to more or less understand his meaning, even if he could not speak. Takashi remembered how Magnus managed to spoke in his dog form, but the bastard has slipped again, distracting the pack with the urgency of the situation and the joy of the reunion. Takashi had a mental list of questions for the man; from how the heck does one transform back and forth, to how it was possible for that thing in the riverbank to exist.

Takashi was not a stupid child, he suspected that whatever turn people in more of Them could affect Therianthropes and turn them into that thing. A sobering thought indeed. Takashi was a nightmare with claws and he has been awakened into his real powers not four days before; what a monster with the experience and powers of Magnus could do, if he turned into a similar beast was something that Takashi shudder to imagine. Anyhow, Takashi has been bitten before; like a zillion of times; first on the Academy and later by that thing, that almost ripped him in half, and he was not turned at all. It was possible for the Therianthropes to achieve immunity to the sickness or whatever it was?, if that´s the case, he really should talk with Shizuka-sensei about it.

And speaking of to do things, Takashi really should do something about his not-harem. Saeko and he were an item, now and forever; however, Takashi felt like the worst piece of shit ever for his emotions about other females. Saya was his oldest female friend? it was something else but they are scared shitless of the possibility of being more?. Miku has already stated in very plain terms that she would jump his bones gladly, and to be honest, Miku was an exceptionally attractive woman, not only in body but in mind too. Hayashi-sensei was one of his oldest crushes, the redhead woman was older than him, but the Beast care little about that, she was beautiful and sensible, something that he was not.

Saeko, Saya, Hayashi-sensei, and Miku. Four women that had, more or less, caught his little wolfish heart. Ah, and Rei...but that was a topic that he was not totally ready to discuss. Personally, Takashi blamed puberty. Puberty was a hard moment for everyone, and with his own problems to deal with, Takashi knew that he was not thinking as straight as he would have liked. The soup of hormones and Therianthrope powers was a dangerous combo. Takashi has dozens of questions, and so far, his most reliable source of knowledge on the matter was Magnus, picking an answer from the man was quite the chore. The bastard was close; with Shizuka around it was a sure affirmation that Magnus would never leave her behind, but something comes first before any of his questions or the timing was off ninety percent of the time.

Being sincere with himself, Takashi has to admit that his Therianthrope status was mostly a matter that do-or-die, kind of situation. So far he had the senses more or less controlled; a blessing compared with the horrid days of the past; and his strength, agility, and resilience were still to be tested for their limits, the claws were a nice ace under his sleeve, but this transformation had caught him with his pants down. Speaking of it, he was dressed when he transformed, he did not notice his clothes on the floor, did it means that the clothes changed with him? or will he be completely naked as soon as he got his humanity back? That would be awkward, especially if the change came as unexpected as it has been the first time.

Ass naked in the middle of the Takagi´s garden, now that would be awkward…

Still, Takashi thought that perhaps it was a good time as any, and as the pack started to move to their diverse duties and ideas; even a blushing Saeko, who was dragged by a smug looking Miku wanting to know everything about the wild night they have shared in the temple; Takashi found himself yawning. Not that it was physical tiredness, but the mental one. Being unable to speak has made him overthink everything and right now, a peaceful nap in the middle of the garden, sound extremely appealing.

Closing his eyes, Takashi started to nap, accompanied by the fresh breeze of the garden and the murmur of the Koi pond.

Meanwhile, the rest of the pack was moving around all the manor; after all, they have promised that they will not be lazy hands and will help with whatever the Takagi's could need. Kohta and Morita were the ones that had it harder at the beginning, as they almost ended fighting for their weapons, but at the end, two extra armed hands, loyal to the Takagi were welcome by the people of the manor. Miku was a pretty good seamstress and was able to keep an eye on Alice and Zeke when the two were running around the manor doing all kind of errands for the people. Saya was mostly on the HQ, being the daughter of the Takagi has its perks, learning as much as she could of what the heck was going on.

From Saya´s perspective, the entire world has gone to hell in a handbasket.

The radios of the packed HQ of the manor were either with statics or delivering all kind of horrid messages of help, death, and threats. Them were a menace to everyone and in this kind of situation, the best and the worst of humanity tend to surface. So far, Saya was listening to the worse of it. Anyhow, the radios were already trying to establish a line of communication between the teams that were outside in the vital supply runs that they need to survive. Saya was not deluding themselves that at some point, they will be forced to relocate all the people in the manor.

As secure as the place seems to be, the manor was not prepared to hold these many people, much less kept them feed and safe for an indeterminate amount of time. The emergency generators will keep the place up and ready for a while, but at the rate that they consume gas and without a constant supply, they will fail. At that point, they will be forced to move out to another location and with all the maps that Saya was scanning right now, she didn't see a lot of possibles. Far from it, so far she only saw a lot of pain in the asses to deal with, and she was being exceptionally generous with the number of dead weights that she will be carrying.

Saya was not a cruel girl herself, in fact, she was a very emotive child; however, she has inherited her mom´s brains and in this kind of situations; brains are extremely cruel. Survival was not kind, like it or not, Saya was running calculations, turning people into numbers; all but her pack, that was something that she would never turn into numbers; and trying to fit those numbers in what she had in front of her.

Not too long after her calculations, a deep frown was firmly etched into her features. As much as she has suspected since she saw the tents on the outside, the numbers did not fit. The people on the tents were pretty much dead weight, they did try to provide manpower, but at the end, they are not prepared for the kind of violence and discipline that the men of her father are capable. There is still a limit of how many capable hands could be used for a job; there too many hands available and those that were doing nothing will soon start to wonder why did they not pick up weapons and do things as they should be done.

On a single conversation with a couple of the civilians out there, and Saya knew that sixty percent of them did not like her father, and saw him as a little more than a thug with delusions. The fact that they were alive and smooching said thug food and house did not seem to enter into their thick skulls. At some point, Saya´s father will have to deal with a possible riot, and weapons and ammo are not that abundant.

Her father had a lot of men that are loyal to him; several of them ex-soldiers of the JDF and things like that; but the bullets were for Them, not for the civilians that they are supposedly protecting. Bullets will dry and they will be forced to face Them with close combat weapons, again, there are not that many swords available. Katanas; or at last real weapons and not cheap imitations; were not that easy to find and use effectively. Sure, any two bits could pick up an iron bar and try his luck, but Saya knew that that was a desperate attempt.

Without looking in the kitchen and the results of the last supply runs, Saya was unable to calculate how much food and water did they have or how long it is going to last. Still, her mom was in the manor, so she knew that her mother had everything controlled. And that led her to think that her mom knew something that she didn't. Saya may not always see eye to eye with her parents, but she knew that her mom was one of the most intelligent persons in the world. She was the reason behind the Takagi´s fortune.

They were a match made in heaven; or in hell for their enemies; Soichiro was a legend among the JDF special forces, a leader of men and a charismatic bastard that seems out of the samurai flick; Yuriko was an intelligent woman, who was the responsibility for keeping the Takagi´s at the top of the richest families of Japan.

With that data, Saya walked out of the HQ, determined to find what the heck did her mother know that she didn't and what did her father pretend to do with all these people. Saya knew that his father was not a heartless man, sure a stoic and stone-faced bastard, but not heartless. He was loyal to Japan and abandon people for the laughs was not on his character, however, he was also a soldier and he must have a bloody plan. Saya was determined to find it.

On another part of the manor, Alice was running with Zeke trailing behind, the people of one of the walls needed more wood and nails to reinforce one of the yards walls, and she was eager to help. Alice was a little girl with a lot of courage in her little body. She has witnessed the murder of her father, stabbed by a bad man when her father was only trying to save them from those things. Mom died too, a lot of Them caught her in their home and made her a lot of harm. The first night with Takashi-nii and his friends she dreamed of her mom, the screams were something that she could not forget.

Still, she had a pack now; she didn't understand much about the pack thing, it was a bit over her childish head, but she liked it. There were funny people like Morita, Kohta, Saya, and Miku; a woman that was almost as childish as her and that she felts like a mom, Shizuka, nice big sisters like Saeko and Hayashi-sensei and she even had a pet!. From her point of view, she had something akin to a family and that was something that she craved.

Them has taken everything from her in a single night, and the next day, she had a facsimile of the same thing. Did she miss her parents?, absolutely, for a child like her, losing her parents was a devastating blow; luckily for her, Takashi and his pack was nearby and took her in. Takashi was not a strange figure for Alice, she has called him her big brother on more than one occasion when he picked her up from school and the such. Alice knew that her father met Takashi in one of his investigation works. If Takashi was a bad person, her father would not have allowed him to pick up from school and accompany her to the playground, no?.

Happy to have a family again, Alice continued to be useful to them, repaying their kindness and love with all she had. The pack was still young and weak after all, and they would need to be at their best if they wanted to survive another day.

Distracted, she passed running at the side of Magnus that was walking out of the garage of the Takagi´s, after raiding the beer stash there. Finding good beer was starting to become a problem.

Magnus saw the little munchkin run around, followed by the tiny dog that the pack seems to have adopted as a mascot. The little thing was way more clever than the humans believed, after all, he has had the good sense of getting closer to a powerful therianthrope pack.

It has been quite a while since Magnus found a pack with half the talent and capabilities of this one. As much as it pained Magnus' heart; Therianthropes of the power and lineage of Takashi were on the ways of extinction. Humanity has polluted the planet too much; they created systems and way to exploit nature to its utmost limits and the planet was reaching its breaking point. In a sickening thought, this disaster may be just what humans need to get their heads out of their collective asses and realize that their politics of I, me, mine, for me was the absolute recipe for a disaster.

As much as humanity loved science and believed they could science the shit out of everything; this zombie nightmare has blindsided them good. Without a way of knowing how the things are going on outside of Japan, Magnus could not know if the rest of the world was as fucked as Japan was.

Magnus was in Japan for a long-delayed vacation; he did a favor to a friend in Thailand, and just swim all the way to the country. There, he found Shizuka and Rika and form another pack, it has been a century since he left his old pack into the hands of his grandchild and explore the world again. Magnus lacked any reason to think that the pack of his descendant would have any problems with Them, that pack was more than capable of surviving a nuclear apocalypse. They have safe houses and lands to get back if the things went too much pear-shaped.

That was one of the reasons why he was still around this young pack. Magnus liked them, he saw a lot of himself in Takashi, he saw a lot of his old pack on them. Usually, Therianthropes do not mix with each other, being Alphas means that they did not react well to any kind of pressure or dominance; but Takashi, as powerful as he really was, was practically a baby born among the Therianthropes. It was not a surprise that some cretin has tried to stole his power, it was notable and with time and experience, Takashi could be quite the beast, equally and maybe even surpassing Magnus. He still had a long work ahead of him for that, but it was a possibility.

Opening the can in his hand, Magnus took a long sip of the beer and moved deep into the manor. The place was a pretty nice one, a comfortable and perfectly organized Mannor. Yuriko´s touch was visible on the good going of the manor and Magnus smiled for himself.

Not really a surprise that Soichiro was so wary of the Therianthropes, Yuriko was part of Magnus old pack in the States. She was the daughter of one of the members of Magnus pack and Soichiro married her, taking her out of the pack and into Japan; just to discover that his own daughter was kind of sweet with a powerful Therianthrope. Talk about irony. Yuriko felt in love with Soichiro, it was kind of a love at first sight, and the packs understand that pretty well, but Yuriko walking out of the pack did not sit well.

Now, Magnus was laughing his ass off, seeing how Soichiro was housing a young but powerful pack in his home, and his only daughter was part of the said pack, and perhaps one of the mates of the Alpha male of the pack.

Karma was a bitch.

Anyhow, Magnus was just entertained with the show until Rika was back, and then they could pick up Shizuka and look out for a safe place. Still, Magnus suspected that Shizuka has taken quite a liking, maternal liking, to the young pack and abandon them would be not among her plans. Magnus would hate to break the heart of the beautiful blonde, she was one of the most beautiful souls that Magnus has found in decades; her hour-glass figure did help too, and Magnus was delighted to have such a wonderful and positive mate on his pack.

And speaking of packs, even if it was still up to debate, Magnus look from one of the windows and spat the beer in half laughs, when one of the girls of the pack of Takashi, stabbed that slimy bastard of Shido right in the guts. Now, that must have hurt, but why on the nine worlds would have that girl the need to stab Shido like that?. That was a precise and tremendously painful wound.

There is no fury as a woman scorned or something along those lines, and Magnus laughed as he saw how Yuuki Miku shoved a long kitchen knife into the guts of Koichi Shido; twisting the kitchen to be sure that it hurt like hell.

If anything, Magnus has to admit that Takashi´s pack was always an interesting one.


End file.
